Alys Williams. Photo by Ant Robling

The Light House by Alys Williams – Park Theatre, London

Published at Plays International.

The Light House is written and performed by Alys Williams, who trained at the École Jacques LeCoq clown school. It is her debut play, developed through a programme at Leeds Playhouse, and shows considerable promise. The piece is highly personal, dealing with the suicidal depression of someone close to her, and leaves some of the audience in tears. However, Williams’ achievement is to make her experience of trying to care for her friend and navigate hostile healthcare systems involving, and a positive collective experience. The purpose of the show is, she says, to be together for an evening and deal with things we usually have to handle while “adulting on our own”. Audience involvement, which Willams handles lightly and with great charm, plays a constant role, filling in the missing characters in her story.

Williams explains her experiences through the metaphor of the ‘man overboard’ procedure on ships: shouting and whistling to raise the alarm, throwing a lifebuoy and then pointing for as long as it takes. This theme is restated rather too often during the show, but acts as a neat metaphor for the terrifying experience of trying to save someone who is drowning in despair. The show, directed by Andrea Heaton, includes moments of clever physicality, including the use of an anglepoise lamp as a puppet version of Williams’ friend, and a brief sequence of expressive and moving clowning. A simple wooden box set by Emma Williams creates a neat range of spaces. Alys Williams is an immensely likeable performer, with a rare ability to hold an audience. ‘The Light House’ is focused on her personal experience, but would gain significance with the addition of some wider context (for example, the show raises, but does not answer, many questions about the Irish healthcare system). Her talent for physical expression could also be used more extensively. However, as a first time playwright Williams has a success on her hands, and her progress is clearly worth tracking.