IIf you want to live longer, exercise, eat well, and sleep more. But the couple in Emma Hemingford's play embark on a rather radical alternative to ensure they have decades to live. Jay, an aspiring biotech entrepreneur, and Alice, a slightly lost elementary school teacher, sign up for gene therapy. With a few consent forms, a minor surgery, and a hefty bill, they can get plenty of time. “It’s your most valuable resource,” assures the smooth medical consultant.
For Jay and Alice, both in their 30s, that means the clock has stopped on important life decisions. Marveling at their newfound freedom and pressure-free privilege, they plan lavish vacations and consider setting aside a year for sex. But in this near-dystopia, which Hemingford deftly uses as a time capsule of the notable issues of our time, this biotechnological breakthrough leads to further division, inequality, and catastrophe. They realized they were connected.
It's a powerful concept with a lot of “What would you do?” Hemingford presents a society divided into “fixers” who receive treatment and “lifers” who accept the natural order. Christopher Yorke as Jay and Emma McDonald as Alice are neatly juxtaposed as the rifts in their relationship deepen, but the drama's second half would have benefited from a stronger script. It's refreshing to see a play seriously considering big ideas, and Foreverland illuminates our path through the valley of the shadow of death. But as Substance recently proved, the tension doesn't build as quickly as it does at the more severe peaks of the “eternal youth” genre.
Director Frederic Wynand keeps a fast tempo on the stage, with an almost exposed thrust that Peiyao Wang designed as a Richard Serra-like sheet of steel. The combination of Lily Woodford-Lewis (lighting) and Jamie Lu (sound) brings a chilling atmosphere to the set's medical curtains. Valerie Antwi, Emily Butler, and Una Byrne play well in the supporting roles, but the story can be played as a close-knit tale of a couple, or as a more expansive story that details the divisions in society. As a drama, it will have a greater effect. At 90 minutes long, it's not an engrossing entertainment, but it's intriguing.
