by Jonathan Grant

Life. One minute it’s going fabulously, and the next, without warning, it’s falling apart in front of your eyes and you’re both powerless to stop it and oblivious to it until it’s too late. That’s the situation Drew McKay finds himself in in Jackie Kane’s compassionate drama This to This, now playing at the Union Theatre.

Drew (Scott Ainslie) has more blessings than most; a good job and a happy home life. Until, that is, his girlfriend’s mother Peggy (played with a compassionate grace by Rosalie Jorda) is struck with dementia. Unable to fend for herself any more, her daughter Jen (Jackie Kane) dutifully quits her job to look after her. However, the emotional burden this puts on her and her relationship with Drew, and the financial burden of having to live as a single-income family, soon begin to show.

What unfolds is a sad and touching portrayal of one couple’s walk down a rocky path to break-up when circumstances get in the way. More than that, Drew and Jen, supported by the sexy Rachel (Melanie Gray), Drew’s good friend and boss Phil Brooks (Simon Anderson), and his wife Nicky (Chandrika Chevli), are an allegory. In This to This they begin as the couple mastering life. But it soon becomes obvious that all the “big” decisions they thought they were making, about life, work, kids, even their own relationship, were being made for them by coincidence, chance and habit.

This to This will resonate with its audience because of its grounding in everyday life. The characters really bloom as it becomes obvious they all have problems and foibles of their own, each having weaved tangled webs, again more by circumstance than design, over the thirty-something years of their respective lifetimes. And, much like any group of friends, the interaction between them is warm and touching, and generally well played out, if, on occasion, slightly wooden and over-scripted.

However, what this play lacks is any really stand-out scenes, signature moments or cameo performances. As it was, rather like the dementia-ridden Peggy whose portrayal by Jorda was arguably the most captivating of all, there was little excitement or activity of note.

Kane, and the director, Robert Wolstenholme, have settled for the safe option, preferring the melancholy but slightly run-of-the-mill to something a little out of the ordinary. That’s a pity because the script is anything but senile and the overall concept is well-founded.

Yet, when it has come to transferring that to the stage, it is obvious something has got lost in translation. For example, the scenes where Phil is caught over-indulging with the mis-pleasures of the Internet by his wife, or any one of the numerous arguments between Drew and Jen or Phil and Drew, seem to just peter out rather reach any form of climax. This adds to the overall melancholic feel of hopelessness within their lives, but doesn’t add the all important fizz to the performance, though the show is succinct enough never to slow to a crawl and it has to be said that a good, if somewhat steady, pace is maintained for the entire 80 minutes of running time.

All in all then, This to This is a well-paced, well-written drama that is definitely worth a visit if you’re a thirty-something yourself and want a douse of reality to put your own life in perspective. However, give it a miss if you’re after fringe fun and escapist frolics.

The production continues at the Union Theatre until June 17. Bookings: 020 7261 9876.