The Spare Room: Belvoir St Theatre Review

The Spare Room: A beautiful battle of hope vs denial.

The Spare Room is an adapted play detailing the story of a terminally ill woman staying in her friend's spare room whilst receiving holistic care promised to ‘make her better’. It tackles the ideas of western vs. alternative medicines, the battle between hope vs. denial and who is allowed to be selfish when dealing with the topic of death. 

Whilst this play was somewhat entertaining mostly it just left me thinking. Who would I be if I was them? Does holding on to hope grant someone freedom to be happy in moments of despair or is acceptance the answer to peace in such a chaotic time? And are the sick allowed to be blind and selfish to their actions, forcing their friends and family to accommodate or should they be held accountable right to their death bed?

While these questions weren’t necessarily answered they were thoughtfully explored throughout the duration of the piece. The text of the play itself I felt was simply and logically adapted from the book, not giving any added flourish or poetry. Although I think some lyrical liberty could've been taken I do commend the effort to condense a book into a 1 hour 50 minute play.

My experience of this play was somewhat deterred and interrupted by an audience member who had consumed, let's just say a little too much and decided to loudly talk, laugh and do some inappropriate miming. Judy Davis even broke the 4th wall and told her to ‘shut up’! Whilst this was distracting I will say it did make for some good entertainment, especially during the lull periods, which during a longer show with no interval was greatly appreciated.

Emma Diaz stole the show, breathing life and energy into a somewhat subdued play, playing multiple characters with equal sass and charm. Whilst it was very lovely to see older and such established actors on stage it was somewhat hard to see them reaching for lines and forgetting where they were at in a scene. 

The lighting design in this show was my one big takeaway, Paul Jackson beautifully filled the stage with equal parts hope and despair. In his subtle designs illuminating daylight, hospital settings and spotlighting the actors he perfectly captured the essence of each moment, tying an unnoticed bow that wrapped up the completeness of each scene. 

I would say as a younger person this play is definitely more targeted towards an older audience, but I’d say if you like magic shows, have been a carer, or love Judy Davis give it a watch! 

3/5 Stars