Presented by Ad Astra productions

Review by Esme Hallworth

Sanctuary at Paradise in Augustines

Growing up alongside a best friend often means having an archivist for every first and every fail and Abbie and Nina’s friendship is no exception to the rule. Her personal archivist absent, we find Abbie (Sofia Tarczy-Hornoch) alone on stage rifling through a shoebox of nostalgia, home to a journal which traces years of sleepovers and friendship with all its trusted childhood excitement and teenage angst.

Abbie revisits excerpts from her journal and watches as the passages come alive on stage, re-enacted by Kira Stone and Sylvie Tamar who buzz about stage with a childlike intensity which is more endearing than it is exhausting. From the first sleepover to their last, a steady and impressive character progression is carried out through considered physicality changes to mark the years passing. Each sleepover bears witness to the passing of another quintessential landmark of girlhood, from a first encounter with eyeshadow to using one another as kissing buddies for practice, a tale as old as time.

Between flashbacks, adult Abbie is visited by Nina (Brooke Stevenson) who reminds her friend not to turn away from moments that feel better forgotten. Given the meditative nature of their now adult discussions, movement on stage verges on distractingly compulsive – a smattering of stillness might have afforded a more impactful delivery of very delicate sentiments. Further, though dialogue flows fast and freely, the script could stretch itself more widely to explore the relatable independent of the predictable. This being said, phrases from flashbacks cleverly weave into and find painful resonance with Abbie’s present, such moments causing some audience members to reach for their sleeve or tissue. Overall, Tarczy-Hornoch’s true to life and touching writing illustrates how tender moments of our youth are never contained in a shoebox, but come to stud and glitter the present.

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