“Wreck” by Toby Campion
Nottingham Playhouse

Set in the upstairs bijou studio space of the Neville Studios at Nottingham Playhouse is a new piece of theatre from the pen of Leicester poet Toby Campion, This one man performance is something quite different.

Theatre is one medium that should make the audience leave discussing what they've seen and that's so true of this piece.

Tarik, played by Luke Grant, is an easy going Nottingham lad who’s been visiting his girlfriend, Sophie, in Scotland and is on the train back home. But what happens when that train journey doesn’t go quite as expected is just the start of one dark, thrilling and harrowing story.

Luke Grant's story telling skills keeps you on the edge of your seat (and I still don't believe the ending of the story). He has a versatile voice and the change in his tone from the start of his tale to the ending is

miles apart. He has passion in his voice and fire in his eyes, and with the close proximity of the Neville Suite, you get to feel that emotion at close range.

You could completely believe the football fan was there beside Tarik and the woman in Tarik's seat. I totally bought in to the pictures painted by this script and Luke's descriptive acting skills.

Toby Campion's writing is first rate and is completely believable with the language and his style. It's written partly from experience, as Toby used to travel the journey himself. It's everyday observation at it's best. That though is where the comparison to Toby's journeys and this story end. And if you come and see this powerful play, you'll see exactly what I mean.

There's a part of the play where my imagination from the story telling stopped painting pictures in my mind and a certain shock factor kicked in when I realised where the story was going. It was like being on a river which started to flow faster and faster and you then realised you were heading for a waterfall and you'd lost your paddle. That's the panicky excitement feeling you get watching this play.

Directed by Alexandra Moxon. all I can say is WOW! Such pace and passion and the build up of the story creates a rush in your stomach and heart.

The set design by Abi Keating. This was basic at first sight but then everything explodes into life, adding to the visual excitement of this piece.

Tom Mowat is in charge of the sound and light design. The soundscape sets the timeline with aural pictures and creates invisible faces; much like the way that Tarik described the invisible faces in front of him.

The lighting, at times bold to create that shock factor, at times subtle, especially in the aftershock of the wreck sets you right in the middle of what Tarik experiences..

All of the above combined pieced together like a jigsaw puzzle to create one very powerful and topical piece of theatre, and much as I would love to tell you more of the story line, that would be a shame because you really need to see this for yourself to get the full effect. it definitely had me questioning what I saw and heard, which is why i said earlier in this review that i couldn't believe the outcome of this story.

“Wreck” is at the Neville Studios at Nottingham Playhouse until Saturday 30 September 2017. Go and see it, and take a friend or two so that you can compare your thoughts with theirs.