Heather

It is the manuscript about a girl named Greta and her magic pen that lands unassuming writer, Heather Eames, a publishing deal and a fast track into the hearts of a captivated public. Heather’s flurry of excuses prevents a face-to-face meeting with her publisher, Harry. However, when Heather divulges the truth about why they can’t meet, Harry is compelled to pay her a visit. In doing so, he discovers that Heather is not all she seems.

The fabric of Heather is woven with conundrums and observations about human nature that are timely and perceptive. The play’s total length is a trim 55 minutes. Nonetheless, the carefully crafted writing proves sufficient to leave the audience both thoroughly entertained and quietly unsettled.

The sparseness of the set places the focus squarely on Charlotte Melia (Heather) and Ashley Gerlach (Harry). The duo don’t falter for a moment, delivering a confident performance that holds attention firmly. Playwright Thomas Eccelshare deftly manoeuvres the dialogue from playful humour to electric confrontation while music by Iain Armstrong is used to striking effect.

The portrayal of our ‘fake news’ culture in the play sees fact and fiction interchange as Heather and Harry walk the narrow path between spinning stories and stating facts. Our ready embrace of the kind of stories we want to believe also receives a pointed nod.

As the characters on stage collide into barriers of their own rigid thinking, they are forced to dismantle their black and white points of view. Eccleshare holds up a magnifying glass to our innate capacity for both beauty and destruction as the audience watch fixed moral standards bend and twist to accommodate human desire.

After the final bows are taken, the question lingers: are forgiveness and redemption really for everyone?