It would be no hyperbole to state that this is the English language answer to Chekhov; The Brightening Air, with its themes of lost love and missed opportunity, is a piece of drama that is surely going to endure down the decades, gaining in richness and resonance with each new revival.
Rosie Sheehy as Billie and Hannah Morrish as Lydia in ‘The Brightening Air’ (Photo: Manuel Harlan)I am usually highly sceptical of writers who direct their own work, as this lack of an outside perspective tends to end badly. McPherson, however, is the exception that proves the rule, tenderly affording his play a fiercely accomplished production that brings out all of its melancholy richness. His stage composition is full of elegantly understated tableaux, with the dusky hues and artfully angled lighting (full marks to lighting designer Mark Henderson) of an Old Master painting.
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Best of all, however, is the astonishing Sheehy. Billie, who is somewhere on the autistic spectrum, is fierce, comically straight-talking and feverishly obsessive, whether that be about train timetables or hues of paint. She’s protective of what she loves but also prone to violent outbursts and Stephen’s unshowy devotion to her has been quietly but devastatingly taking its toll.
To 14 June, Old Vic, London (0344 871 7628, oldvictheatre.com)
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