A Discussion of Mina Moniri’s Bury Me

Last Tuesday had me speeding to Hammersmith to spend the day in a studio beside the Thames, witnessing the final touches and mad scramble that comes before an opening night. Beginning with tech, developing into a run and finally the first show, this was a mad sprint and also an opportunity to document some of Oxford Drama’s most well know faces pull together a play that was more than a little heart rending. Mina Moniri’s new play Bury Me was performed at the Riverside Studios, a collection of black box studios that are currently playing host to a theatre festival. In Studio 3 could be found a fairly basic set of bed, cupboard and very little else, the stage being set for a play whose priorities were the emotions being conveyed rather than an elaborate engagement with staging. While I did have a notebook with me and definitely did take notes for a review, by the end of the day I felt far more like a member of the team than an objective reviewer. Mina Moniri’s writing and Gillian Konko and Peter Todd’s performances were compelling and I couldn’t help but be drawn into the emotion of the whole piece.

This was a play that took you on a non chronological tour of grief, playing with the parallel story lines of the protagonist’s brother (played by Todd) while he battled with lung cancer and Nadia (played by Konko) having to organise his funeral. Beginning with the funeral and then jumping back and forth between before and after Noah’s death, we were not left in suspense as to whether he would survive his surgery but were instead drawn into the pain and love that was present throughout every scene. It is a heavy topic, there is no denying it, however there was plenty about this play that was far from heavy. The regular injection of humour had the audience laughing, especially at the various characters played by Fitzroy ‘Pablo’ Wickham. Ranging from a priest to a waiter to the least helpful manager of a funeral home imaginable, Wickham’s performance managed to turn something that was deep and emotional into purely hilarious. This could be argued as an odd combination – grief and humour – however, at the end of the day every comedy is serious and most experiences of death include a fair amount of ridiculousness.

Just as Wickham was memorable, so too were Konko and Todd, both conveying so much emotional depth as they tackled the difficult and somewhat personal subject matter. Woven in with sibling teasing and intense moments of truth and love, both the writing and the acting struck the balance perfectly. It was a compelling piece of theatre that drew audiences into the rollercoaster of the story and left your heartbroken at the end. As Nadia sat beside a coffin and listened to the final words of her brother, recorded as a voice note, the entire chaotic story came to a head and I daresay a few audience hearts broke just a little. I cannot compliment the acting talent on display here highly enough. Having seen quite a few of Todd’s performances over the past couple of years, I can quite confidently say that this is the strongest performance that I have seen him give. To only discuss these three actors would do a disservice to the other two actors who shared the stage, both of whom were excellent. This was a team that exuded both skill and professionalism, cast and crew alike.

As can probably be told, I thoroughly enjoyed this play, feeling that it was an extremely skilled piece of theatre that was tender and emotionally hard hitting. For the photographer in me it was an opportunity to continue to develop my portfolio and explore new editing technology. For the reviewer it was a reminder that as the people I have known at Oxford begin to leave to take the next steps in their professional journeys we can be prepared for some excellent pieces of theatre. I could rave about how much I enjoyed the performance and the writing but the audience reactions after that first showing speak for themselves – suffice to say there were tears both on and off the stage. All that remains for me to do is to wish everyone involved the best of luck as they continue to develop their careers.