James Rowland - 'Piece of Work'
James Rowland's latest show examines friendship, home, love, and loss
Theatre maker James Rowland's latest show takes its inspiration from events in 2007, the year that Rowland graduated from drama school and got his first job as a paid actor – starring in a one-man production of Hamlet. It was also the year that his father died.
As we take our seats, Rowland changes from jeans, t-shirt and boots into a pair of flannelette pyjamas and bright red trainers, and after moving around the stage to Phil Oakey's 'Electric Dreams', the show begins as we silently watch a feather fall from an outstretched hand, watching it gently helicopter towards the floor.
Over the course of the next seventy minutes, we are captivated by Rowland's monologue, as he mixes passages from Hamlet with anecdotes and memories from a journey that began in Yorkshire, and moved to Didsbury, near Manchester. We learn how his father's best friend, Dick, whose wife committed suicide, arranged for their son, Chris, to move in with the Rowlands, and to become James' surrogate younger brother.
With an array of dog-eared and well-worn maps spread out in front of us, we plot the divergence of the two boys' lives over the years. James remained close to the familiarity of home, and the comfort and consistency of his favourite take-away chicken burgers. Chris became an itinerant global traveller, effectively estranged from his own father, but acquiring a partner and child of his own along the way. However, he suffered mental health problems, and his thoughts would sometimes turn to ending his own life.
Rowland uses his skill as a consummate storyteller to convincingly chronicle the duality of each brother's journey, with the Bard's words from Hamlet abutting each highly personal disclosure on family, friendship and loyalty. It is a cleverly constructed journey, touching on love, loss and grief as well as hope, humour and joy.
One of the most moving moments comes towards the end of the performance, when Rowland plays a recording of his late father's voice, in which he is making a speech of thanks at the music college where he worked.
'Piece of Work' is fearless in the way it tackles the subject of suicidal thought, and when book-ended with humour and honesty, it creates a powerful statement.
We are left with the final thought on that perennial question, 'To be or not to be?' The answer, according to Rowland, is even more straightforward than a single binary option.
