What’s left of you once you’ve lost everything? Simon Stephens’ Sea Wall delves into that and more in this powerful solo show on right now at Assembly Theatre. Produced in association with One Four One Collective and directed by Belinda Cornish, Sea Wall tells the gripping story of one man’s life and how quickly everything can go wrong. As moving as it is haunting, Sea Wall will give you the chills, in the best way!

Sea Wall is about the tragedies which befall the storyteller, Alex, and his family while on holiday with his father-in-law. I loved that the narrative structure was very back and forth between reality and memory, past and present. It flowed like a real conversation, sometimes allowing Alex to get lost in his reveries and at others bringing him jarringly to his current pain. While little clues are dropped throughout the story, there’s still quite a good deal of mystery to it as well, leaving you pondering long after the performance’s conclusion.

This was my first time at the Assembly Theatre; it’s so amazing that I’ve been writing here for over a year and there are still theatres I haven’t been to yet! Assembly is a fantastic little black-box theatre which was perfectly suited to Sea Wall. I loved all of the props sitting around at the back of the stage, it really lends to the feeling that we’re just experiencing a slice of this person’s life. When it’s later explained that the character/narrator Alex is a photographer, it all falls beautifully into place.

Jamie Cavanagh gives a stellar performance as Alex. The ease with which he moves about the stage, the fact that he makes eye contact with the audience throughout the performance, and his fantastic accent work totally enchants the audience and keeps us rapt for the entire performance. You felt like he was just catching up, talking to a friend and letting them know about this horrible thing that happened to him. You could feel his pain at the memories but also the joy at the good ones. Cavanagh’s talent shines through his performance and truly makes Sea Wall the captivating experience that it is!

Sea Wall is on until October 8th and I promise you won’t want to miss this incredible show. With limited seating at each performance, you’ll want to get your tickets ASAP! For more information and tickets, visit: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/sea-wall-by-simon-stephens-tickets-709340024107

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Jamie Cananagh. Photo by Cass Van Wyck

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