Simon Ward reviews Watershed at Playhouse East

Emma Hickman’s witty play shares some ideas with movies like The Truman Show and The Lego Movie – the world presented here is carefully choreographed and ‘everything is awesome’. Unlike in those films, however, Annie (Chessika Warin-Boyd) does seem to know that she is in a curated version of her life in the wonderful world of Cherryfield. The piece opens with the play’s actual director, Esme Pitman, in role as a kind of behind the scenes stage director, complete with clapperboard. Henry Roberts manfully remains on the keyboards after Moriarty, this time credited as composer and collaborating with Thomas Drake on judiciously deployed guitar. And the cast break into song every now and again, in an utterly endearing way.

In one sense of the term ‘watershed’, that period of time during the day when no adult content can be shown on television, Annie has been living her life on those terms – she has been a child, and not had to take responsibility for her choices. But all that is about to change – with A level results arriving she will be heading off to university and making her own decisions. However, other people can do that too, like boyfriend Hugo (Matthew Irvine), who has decided that they should split up as he is going to Exeter and she is going to Oxford Brooks. Even if he is awful,and she would be better off without him, she cannot admit that to herself. But at least she can rely on her lovely, no-nonsense Mum (Abby Doubtfire) to offer a consoling word and a big hug. Oh no, wait, best friend Yaz (Emma Hickman) has taken a phone call at the A level results party and Mum is no longer going to be around. Leaving her stuck with only useless Paul, aka Dad (Michael Seabrook), who she really does not get on with. Suddenly her miserable life is not going to make such great TV anymore.

It takes a weirdly psychedelic trip to Yaz’s oddly lascivious grandmother (played with relish, and a stomping song by Michael Seabrook) to shake Annie out of her self-fulfilling pattern of denying or suppressing anything that was in any way negative. Unlike today’s carefully crafted lives for display on Insta and elsewhere, she is going to embrace the messy realities of life, including the downs as well as the ups. On the floor in the centre of stage is a taped-off square into which the actors must enter to perform. It marks the boundary of their world. But when Annie’s watershed moment strikes, she finally realises that what she thought had been liberating and fulfilling was actually holding her back. Did she really need a piece of tape to constrain her life? Did she even need a director with a clapperboard?

Beautifully acted by a committed and enthusiastic cast, this is a small gem of a piece, full of joy, optimism and hope, even in the face of life’s many challenges.

Watershed ran at Playhouse East, 258 Kingsland Road, London E8 4DG from 28th to 30th May