Goodbye To All That

Luke Norris' new play bursts open with excitement and plans for the future as loved-up Frank (Roger Sloman) beams at his grandson David as he relates his A-level results with quiet glee. Norris' skill at writing parts for these different generations is remarkable, as is his ability to rise above the commonly perceived disparity between the two to make this grandfather and grandson believable close friends.

But Norris explores their differences in another, wholly original way when their takes on love and relationships come to a head. As the play sobers up David, played by a brilliantly sparky Alexander Cobb, makes his peace with going to Leicester University and angrily insists his grandfather's illicit affair comes to an end. 

But Frank would rather leave his wife, Iris, to live with his girlfriend Rita. With both women in their sixties, and Frank soon hospitalised, Norris presents us with dynamics that carry an undercurrent of tragedy and go beyond an ordinary love-triangle.

While Iris (Susan Brown) plays a strange game of possession, Rita jostles to find a place for herself in Frank's care plan. In a superb way of looking at love, relationships and the older generation, who are more relevant than ever as our population ages, Luke Norris makes us laugh and cry at the realities of a life of apathy and the tragedy of a love found too late.   

Naima Khan