THE SEA HORSE - Review of the production at the Golden Goose Theatre

Rachael Bellis & Jay Rincon Photo credit: Jess Blake

Given how comfortably this production sits within a contemporary environment, it is a wrench to have to remind oneself that The Seahorse was written and first performed over half a century ago. However, the reality is that Edward J Moore’s restless study of a tempestuous and unresolved relationship remains as relevant now as it surely will into the future.

The sparse, dark setting of a perhaps neglected seafront bar – the ‘Sea Horse’ of the title – offers a highly-effective, often claustrophobic setting for the action. This apparently remote environment becomes the sole venue for the two protagonists to probe and explore where their tarnished affiliation might now take them. Returning from the ocean, seaman Harry Bales (Jay Rincon) – a confident alpha-male with a rigid sense of entitlement – reaches out to bold, yet guarded bar owner Gertrude Blum (Rachael Bellis) via a presumptuous, unprompted visit. It transpires that the ‘couple’ have previously weathered an on-off physical relationship, and this Harry belatedly wishes to consolidate. His utterances and apparent offers of permanence and security appear initially to be succeeding. However, the body-conscious Gertrude is flattered but unconvinced, although clearly remains infatuated by the handsome, hard-drinking seafarer.

Split into two forty-five-minute acts, the scene is hereby set for a fascinating and powerful study of status transfer, the characters wresting back control from one another as their uncertain relationship ebbs, flows and crashes like the waves before them. But this is not purely a psychological or emotional drama. The strength of this production is found as much within the remarkable physical performances of the two actors as it is within the fluctuating dynamics of their dialogue: whether the couple are dancing, embracing or violently entangling, the audience is drawn to gasp and flinch as it experiences these contrasting emotional forces. Yet somehow those in attendance will also witness a vulnerability shared between the pair – and it is this that surely lands most significantly.

Without letting slip any spoilers, this writer – while equally delighted and exasperated by these flawed characters – found it hard to side permanently with either Harry or Gertrude in their apparent ongoing struggle, and there are indeed numerous instances in which their ritualistic behaviour will startle the onlooker as much as it will entertain.

The Sea Horse however, remains a compelling piece of theatre: it is a production that pulls and carries one along via its arduous current – yet the desire remains strong to push one’s head above the water just long enough to see where the courtship of Harry and Gertrude might venture next…

Written by Edward J Moore

Directed by Mandi Riggi

Starring Rachael Bellis & Jay Rincon

Website

Address: 146 Camberwell New Road, Camberwell, SE5 0RR

Tickets: ​£18 Standard, £16 Concessions

​​Performance Times:​

Tue - Sat | 7:30pm

Fri 14th Nov | 8:30pm

Sat 15th Nov | 2:00pm

Running Time:

1hr 45mins with 15min Interval

SE5 0RR