Simon Ward reviews Foreverland at the Southwark Playhouse

Emma Hemingford’s stunning new play, Foreverland, is a fascinating deep dive into the possibilities that may open up in the near future as biotechnology evolves and genetic re-engineering offers the chance for some people to ‘live forever’. We follow the mid-thirties couple Alice (Emma McDonald) and Jay (Christopher York) as they embark, tentatively at first, on a journey which could potentially extend their lifespans indefinitely.

There are caveats, of course. A history of depression, for example, would exclude them from the programme. But the financial imperatives to enrol people are so great – the programme requires expensive annual repeat medication after the initial dose – that a bit of smooth-talking charm from Jay can paper over the cracks of his medical history. As Dr Lane (Valerie Antwi) also makes clear, there is a prescribed process to go through should enrollees decide that they wish to end their participation – ironically, if they simply stop coming for treatment, their ‘ends’ will be painful and distressing.

Having signed up for the programme the couple are at first giddy with excitement, and rush from place to place and thrill to thrill. Before long, even the biggest thrills begin to pall and a familiar sense of ennui threatens to descend. There is a poignant moment when young Annie (Emily Butler), acting out the lifespan of a butterfly, becomes upset about how short their life is, compared to her parents. Their justifications for their choices and the unfairness involved ring hollow.

This a play that provides so much food for thought it’s almost overwhelming. The metaphors for the ways the wealthy have always attempted to escape the mundane realities of life, death and aging are unavoidable. The sense that there is no escape from oneself is palpable – even with ‘eternal life’ Jay still has a tendency to depression, Alice is still too eager to please others. There is a terribly sad moment when Alice is trying to coax Jay out of a depressive episode and it becomes apparent that their sex-life has descended into the seediest kind of cos-play. There is no thrill left in anything. The only shred of joy is their daughter, and even she comes to question the very basis of their lives.

This is a powerful, evocative, brilliantly performed piece of theatre. The static world its characters inhabit is set against occasional glimpses of a recognisable world outside – too hot, more unsafe, water more precious – which makes their ultimately selfish experiment all the more self-defeating. If you can’t escape yourself, you certainly can’t escape the realities of the world around you.

Foreverland is running at the Southwark Playhouse Borough, 77-85 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6BD until Saturday 19th October.