★★★★
The set of Lost Atoms is impassive in its towering stacks of drawers that stand at the back of the stage. The staggering height and as yet unknown contents feel foreboding as two actors appear below them. Ultimately, Lost Atoms is a show about love, loss and the in between. It moves seamlessly from quick wit to quiet heartbreak and hurls you around every other emotion in the meantime. Arresting, smart, and devastating, Frantic Assembly have created yet another masterpiece of theatre.
At its core are Jess (Hannah Sinclair Robinson) and Robbie (Joe Layton). Jess is larger-than-life and Robbie would like to eat mini eggs on the sofa. The juxtaposition of characters is bittersweet and real, and never quite manages to fully embed into the cliché that it could. Starting at the beginning, we watch how the couple first meet, and from the off, journey with them as they grow together throughout their relationship. Abrupt changes of lighting, from a soft yellow to a cold white indicate that we are at the very end of the relationship, hunting through memories gathered from when it began. It is fast-paced, but never rushed and strikes a delicate balance of capturing how long memories can last and how they float back.
Delving into the past, the wry humoured, well-written dialogue asks how and what we remember. It asks what two people can recall differently about a time and a space they were both occupying together, and questions memory and honesty. Through this, the ups and downs of Jess and Robbie’s relationships are picked apart as they scale the set behind them using drawers to lean on, or retrieve a plethora of props, or as anchors to dangle off. The mesmeric interweaving of the physical theatre and compelling chemistry create a world, that just as they have, you fall into with ease. It flits between fiercely moving and laugh-out-loud, and charms throughout.
At times playful and at others echoing the ache of a world slowly falling apart, the performance spins through the realities of contemporary relationships. Each actor is entrancing in their role, and as the set comes to life around them it becomes an intimate performance of epic scope and depth. Writer Anna Jordan deftly handles the different cards people are dealt in life with careful nuance and gravity, touching on loss, mental health, and family.
Lost Atoms is a work of art as much as it is a performance. Between the lithe movement and the easy-going nature of the conversation, each part blends into one and you are somersaulted through Jess and Robbie’s world, slightly unsure of where you will be taken next. Smart theatrics lean into a bicker and between the weightlessness of the performers and the elegance of the staging, Lost Atoms is breath-taking. It will wrap you up in its magic and leave you stunned as you leave the theatre, firmly on two feet.
Lost Atoms is touring the UK until 28 February. A full list of dates can be found on Frantic Assembly’s website.
Words by Hannah Goldswain.
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