Roe McDonnell
It’s Christmas Eve in the Smits household and family politics is at an all time high. The lingering impacts of divorce, a grandson coming out to the dismay of his homophobic father and the deterioration of the family patriarch Erick to dementia . This world premiere musical gets together the best performers and creatives of Belgium and will leave you in tears in the best way possible and rushing to your childhood photo album to hunt for mammoths in your grandparents pictures. The simple yet innovative set draws us into the dining room of a family home, the best view of the village and various periods throughout Albert’s life with a simple coat and a lighting change to show the impact.
It is one of those pieces that relies solely on the chemistry of its cast and with this show, I was shocked to see all different last names on the poster as I thought the familial bond and relationship all of these performers have with each other makes this one of the best pieces of theatre I have seen in a long time. Erick Goris heads the family as Albert, a gentleman at his core and avid photographer, we watch as confusion takes over his mind and some things he used to remember just don‘t come to him anymore. Goris breaks our hearts with every realisation and the songs that reflect it, carrying multiple solos, duets and beautiful group numbers with experience, class and ultimately passion.
Femke Vershueren has double the responsibility during these performances, portraying the ethereal Lilly (Albert’s wife in a past life) and Rose, the nurse who takes care of Albert at home as the family stresses continue on the children and grandchildren. The shift between each of these characters feel too close to each other in the best possible way, our hearts breaking even more when Albert eventually realises who is in front of him. Vershueren also composed the music which deserves a whole credit in itself. Stunning solos of each family member to elegant duets between Lilly and Albert, I wished coming out you could stream them as some of them definitely would be in my top of the year!
Daan Keisse stuns as Thomas – the grandson of the family – and features heavily as young Albert. Similar to the Lilly/Rose split we see so much of Thomas in Albert and vice versa where sometimes if you watch carefully in the present parts you can see Albert admire his grandson and mentally compare him to his younger years. Keisse’s voice and talent goes for days and if we do not see this young performer take off in the next year something has seriously gone wrong with the universe.
As well as dementia and the immediate family impacts, this musical isn’t afraid to explore the second or third degree impacts of the grief before the death. What brings people to slip into old habits to cope and how sometimes even that can go array. Leendert De Vis as the Father and Andrea Croonenberghs as the Mother bring in added family stress of a divorce a few years ago due to the bottle and we watch De Vis as he battles recovery and the temptation a simple drink on Christmas Eve have on him as well as his ex wife. The pressures of making the “family stay together” to avoid more stress that even those two find a breaking point.
You can catch Sense – A New Musical About Dementia until August 22nd at Big at theSpaceTriplex from 23:00 (65mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.
Lamesha Ruddock
Jake Mace
