The Brink
by Brad Birch
7-30 April 2016 at the Orange Tree

History teacher Nick is on the edge.

A hidden secret lies under the Brink. Nick can’t get it out of his mind. A series of visions force Nick to investigate what lies beneath. Nick’s girlfriend doesn’t understand. Neither do his fellow teachers. Frustrated, he confides in a Year 10 student but can she be expected to have all the answers.

A co-production between the Orange Tree Theatre, W14 Productions and Theatre Bench, in association with the National Theatre Studio: The J.P. Morgan Award for Emerging Directors production

Director Mel Hillyard
Designer Hyemi Shin
Lighting Designer Lizzie Powell
Sound Designer and Composer Tom Gibbons
Movement Director Carolina Valdés

Photographer Helen Warner

Cast

Alice Haig
Vince Leigh
Shvorne Marks
Ciarán Owens

Reviews

★★★★ "Playwright Brad Birch has just been announced as the recipient of the Harold Pinter Commission to write a play for the Royal Court, and The Brink – given a wonderfully jittery, skittery production by Mel Hillyard to match the text – shows exactly why. It has a distinctive ping, like an alarm clock on the blink. It’s very funny, too... a short, sharp, shockingly entertaining play that dances along the tightrope between reality and unreality."
Lyn Gardner, Guardian

★★★★ "a taut psychological thriller and a searingly astute parable about life in Generation Y... Birch’s script is howl-inducingly funny" 
Lucinda Everett, The Telegraph

★★★★ "Brad Birch remorselessly skewers the inertia of a man struggling with his role as a teacher while failing to grow up. But while the jokes come thick and fast, The Brink also dissects its protagonist with precision and refuses to provide easy answers... a knotty but entertaining mix of stylised staging and naturalistic writing."
Lauren Mooney, The Stage

★★★★ "Mel Hillyard, the recipient of the 2015 JP Morgan Emerging Director Award, deftly translates Birch’s offbeat poeticism"
Marianka Swain, The Arts Desk

★★★★"Mel Hillyard’s pacy and uncluttered in-the-round production catches the tone of Birch’s writing perfectly and snappy well-timed delivery of his sharp dialogue brings an abundance of laughs, The Brink is a little gem, the lightness of the comedy on its surface contrasting beautifully with the darkness of its underlying themes."
Stephen Bates, Reviews Hub

★★★★"Birch’s script is unsettlingly authentic and is packed to the brim with humour, even in the darkest moments.." "a must-see"
Lily Hayes, A Younger Theatre