[Theatre/Physical Theatre – New South Wales]

The Studio at Holden Street Theatres, Tuesday 5th March 2024

Bizarre as it sounds, Henry Naylor did leave his life as a sit-com writer and jobbing comedian to go to Afghanistan. From doing the circuit in the UK he put on his playwright’s hat and decided to properly research his next play idea by going there.

What follows exposes the underbelly of the war, the pictures we don’t normally get to see. Just as many of their buildings are piles of rubble, and Kabul is buried beneath a shiny sheath of dirt and smog, beyond the regular reports of battles won and lost lies a world of human suffering, sacrifice and survival.

Henry and Sam Maynard, his photographer, stumble across this in their naive quest to take in the full scope of the action. They dig deep into the ruins left behind by the armies, to let a shaft of light penetrate the gloom, that numbness and helplessness we feel when faced with carnage in foreign countries.

While his story forms the spine of the show, with his candid innocence courting danger each day, it is his artistic sensitivity that allows us to share his most intimate experiences. Henry relies totally on truthful storytelling, without the need of a soundtrack, with occasional silences relieving the tension. And I’d swear people held their breath here too. With the input of two highly skilled directors, Martha Lott and Darren Lee Cole, this performance remains gripping throughout.

Rather than the black and white motives of the military, or the strained objectivity of journalists, we are given rare insights into the stories of the real participants, who possess that most precious gift, the peace born of sorrow, courage and conviction. We’re charged to leave lethargy behind and take action, no matter how small. As the bard says, ‘nothing comes from nothing.’