In the Seven Ages of Man speech from As You Like It, Shakespeare tracks the stages of life from infancy to the second childishness that comes with old age. This collection of short plays by Anthony Clark takes the phases as stimulus for seven scenes but maps them on to women of different classes and experiences. Together, they form an eloquent meditation on life, mortality and the passing of time, reflecting on the state of the world and our intrinsic desire to make it a better place.
Two actors, Safeena Ladha and Chenise Lynette, take on new roles in each story but She brings out humankind’s innate similarities as well as highlighting each individual’s unique path. In the first play (perhaps the least dynamic), we are introduced to a young, clinically depressed woman coming to terms with her new baby and its conception. Soon, we move on to a restaurant where two old school friends bicker, banter and bawl, in the hope of getting their own back on a waitress who once bullied them in the playground.
As we reach the chapters that tackle death and its inevitability, we feel so connected to the performers that we can’t help but get a lump in our throats when one woman reveals her early terminal diagnosis. Though every life period Clark has written is contrasting in form and feeling, he has a way of making you contemplate what has happened to each of his characters in their lives previously. The play asks: what has made people the ones we now see? Clark is a master of writing flawed, chaotic personalities with verve. When you view these short pieces as one entity, what strikes you is how they grow in might.
Co-directed by Poppy Sutch and Maddy Corner, each piece has its title incorporated in its set, designed by Jessica Curtis. All the titles are present for the final episode in which two young improv performers grapple to understand the minds of 90-year-old dementia sufferers, their own immaturity making it jovial. She is a tableau of growth, of the knowledge that comes with age, and a fascinating analysis of the human condition.
At Tara theatre, London, until 11 February and touring until 12 March.
