The best show of the year.
This is the best show of the year. Grief is the Thing with Feathers, produced by Belvoir St Theatre, is a powerful display of what it takes to experience, manage, and overcome the grief of losing a loved one. An adaptation of the book by Max Porter, Toby Schmitz‘ leading performance captivates, charms and disgusts in equal measure. Coupled with fantastic storytelling and thoughtful direction from Simon Phillips, this show is spellbinding.
Grief is the Thing with Feathers is about how three characters deal with the sudden death of their wife and mother. Schmitz plays a dual role of the Dad who has lost his wife and the Crow who feeds on the Dad’s grief. Philip Lynch and Fraser Morrison play the boys who have lost their mother; they are aware of the Crow and silent eavesdroppers to Dad’s conversations with it. Each character’s interactions with each other, and their regular monologues delivered to the audience, break down each stage of the grieving process and explore what it means to love, lose and let go.
Schmitz is simply incredible. As Dad, he embodies the notion that losing a life partner is like losing yourself. He intricately captures the experience of that loss and the emotional toll it takes on the Dad, with superbly performed monologues about introspection, love, and rediscovery of identity. At the same time, his Dad is also a dad. His chemistry with Lynch and Morrison exudes that of the bond a father has with his children; a love that is low-key, but resonant. His interactions with them, from a scolding that discusses future knee pain caused by excessive jumping to the show’s moment of catharsis, displays the range of a family’s experiences with each other in an authentic, engaging manner.
His performance as the Crow and other roles is just as strong, if not better. Whereas the Dad is emotional, lost and grieving, the Crow is heartless, wicked and cunning. Schmitz’ portrayal of this character is physically stunning; every bead of sweat is noticeable, every fleck of spit visceral, and every swagger toxically narcissistic. The Crow’s cockney accent is masterfully pulled off – so too the different noises of an actual crow. The other roles Schmitz plays offer a smorgasbord of accents from the United Kingdom, which help to diffuse the tension of the show’s more serious moments. Put simply, every time Schmitz is on stage, it’s unmissable.
Lynch and Morrison are also strong. They pick on Schmitz they way boys would to their dad, and their interactions with each other are playful in a brotherly manner and are when they perform best. Their display of how sons deal with the loss of their mother is strong. They have less dialogue about her than Schmitz does, but perform this dialogue with great care and maturity. The audience really gets a sense that when boys lose a mother, they channel that grief differently – but no less impactfully.
Phillips‘ direction is smart. He gets the beats of Porter’s book and directs his cast accordingly. His decision to feature live music – with musician Freya Schack-Arnott performing live throughout the show in a secluded part of the stage – makes the performance feel dynamic in a way recorded backing music would not. His inclusion of video design (courtesy Video Designer Craig Wilkinson) helps support some of the show’s lengthier and more experimental monologues by way of useful visual aid. Though audiences may feel confused at points because the show jumps between time periods and settings without warning, it is easy to quickly pick up where the characters are in their lives and grieving processes.
Ultimately, Grief is the Thing with Feathers is a profound achievement. Schmitz gives an enchanting performance that must be seen to be believed. Most importantly, this production leaves audiences with an understanding of what grief is and what it means to grieve. Grief is a tumultuous, non-linear process of reliving fond memories, reconsidering one’s sense of self, adjusting to new circumstances and moving forward. But it is not forgetting who we love. Instead, it is about never forgetting them.
