Review: Til Death Do Us Part at Theatre503

We have all been confronted by death and the wake that it leaves behind, especially over the past two years. Despite this, in the UK we continue to skirt around the subject of loss, making Safaa Benson-Effiom’s debut full production Til Death Do Us Part all the more profound.

It is rare that a show tackles the ugly, inconsolable, isolating part of grief while maintaining likable and realistic characters; when a production like this comes to the stage we should hold onto it with both hands. 

The central couple, Sylvia (Danielle Kassaraté) and Daniel (Richard Holt), are introduced to the audience in a chilling prologue, where the duo rearrange vases of flowers around their living room in a series of moving tableaus. Expressing the frustration and exhaustion of losing their son Andrew (Jude Chinchen), the opening is difficult to watch, but captivating at the same time. Richard Holt shone as an extremely believable empathetic father figure, transforming slowly from being calm and reasoned to firing pointed accusations at his other half.