Trafalgar Studios 2, London

 

Oli wants to be friends with Marianne, a fading actress whose days of stardom are long behind her. He wants to impress her, while she wants to feel alive again, and inevitably the past suddenly catches up with the present.

Remember Dark Sublime, the show that ran on ITV between 1979-1981? You must remember it – it was on after Mr & Mrs and featured Emmerdale’s Marianna Hogg as Ragana, Queen of the Howling. No? Still doesn’t ring a bell? That’s probably because it never existed, though debut playwright Michael Dennis would have us believe that it’s possible to go home after the play and watch fuzzy old VHS copies of this kids’ fantasy show. And while Dark Sublime isn’t real, the influences and emotions are, delivering a heady brew of nostalgia and bravery.

The real draw here is of course Marina Sirtis in the lead role of Marianne, making her West End debut in the shadow of Nelson’s Column at Trafalgar Studios 2. The cosy 100-seat studio arrangement helps you slip right into the drama – it’s as if Marina and the company are in your living room (actually, you’re in her living room) and that’s not an experience you get every day.

On the face of it, Marina playing a fading former TV actress might not be a stretch, but that would demean her impact as Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Deanna Troi, and Marianne could only dream of being in a US network show that ran for seven seasons and four movies. Marina isn’t Marianne in real life, but for these two-and-a-half hours she transforms into a lonely, spiky survivor who’s watching her friend strike up a successful relationship with another woman; exactly the sort of relationship that she wants herself.

Jacqueline King (Doctor Who’s Sylvia Noble) is excellent as friend Kate, finding love with the younger but level-headed Suzanne (Sophie Ward). Kwaku Mills is a delight as Oli, making the transition from star struck fan to convention organiser to perceptive young adult. The scenes at the Walsall RubyCon are a hoot, and having previously spent time in a similar green room with director Andrew Keates it’s easy to see the inspiration! Thematically, Andrew is on safe ground here, but his assured direction stops this from being just fan service – there’s a real heart to the story.

There’s a lovely device to split up the scenes where the living room becomes a sci-fi set from the show. The lights drop, the TV becomes a viewscreen, and Simon Thorp (playing an earnest Vykar in full shiny garb) interacts with the voice of Mark Gatiss as the ship’s computer. Less HAL-9000, he’s more a Scottish C-3PO with a dash of Orac – lots of snide fun.

As something of a first, mention must be made of the show’s programme, the cover of which is designed like one of the vintage Grandreams Annuals that sat in our stack of Christmas presents back in the day. There’s also beautifully mocked-up faux covers for the tatty paperback novelisations of episodes, a Shreddies promotion, and an academic write-up on the show by the BFI. Such attention to detail.

As someone who has been lucky enough to interview Marina on separate occasions it’s very easy to identify with Oli’s initial emotions before he gets down to the matter at hand. As he sees the real person behind the celebrity he realises she’s just as human as he is and that maybe he could teach her a thing or two. The revelation here is Marina, and it wouldn’t be polite to ask her where Marina finishes and Marianne begins; Indeed, it doesn’t matter where that line is drawn, as the whole piece plays on concepts of fact vs fiction, reality vs fantasy.

Verdict: It doesn’t matter if you’re a sci-fi fan, a Trekker, or a lover of theatre, this is a beautiful observation of the universality of human relationships. Come along for Marina, but leave with feelings of optimism, tolerance and ambition. It’s a cracking night out, and to borrow a line from the play, ‘it’s the opposite of shit.’ 9/10

Nick Joy

 

Read our exclusive interview with Marina Sirtis here and our exclusive interview with Jacqueline King here

 

Dark Sublime is running until 3 August 2019. Tickets and more info from https://trafalgarentertainment.com/shows/dark-sublime/  Photos by Scott Rylander