Poetic storytelling over pints, that sometimes stands in its own way.
Land of Lost Content is an autobiographical coming of age story written by Henry Madd, and co-directed for the tour with Nic Connaughton and Lauren Lambert Moore. The show is performed by Madd alongside co-star Marc Benga, playing Henry’s boyhood friend Jake.
The play is told as a collection of stories. Henry and Jake are two friends from a small village in rural England, sat together over a pint in their local pub, recounting tales of their lives, sharing the stories with the audience that surround the key moments that defined their growth from boys into young men. From village folklore, school discos, and first experiences with girls, to secret woodland raves, substance abuse, and mental illness, we’re given intimate insights into Henry’s life that seek to both celebrate and chastise the quiet English village experience.
For the entirety of the show, Madd’s script is exquisitely poetic. We’re given wonderful spoken imagery that is so well crafted, I’d love to get hold of the script just to re-read it at my own pace. Because while it was beautifully written, this sometimes made the script feel a little overly convoluted, and sometimes confusing. A trade off to performing sublime poetry is that your audience members are at risk of falling behind, lost in the weeds of your words.
For the first three quarters of the play, there isn’t too much of a plot to speak of. We’re simply being told stories because they’re there to be told. These stories had an unfortunate inconsistency in how engaging they were, however. Much like a good but not great musical album, I’d probably skip a couple on later listens.
Even when the stories were less interesting, Madd and Benga performed their roles well, both bringing their best boyish charm to the more whimsical stories, and a melancholic poignancy to the darker moments.
The closing moments of Land of Lost Content are wrapped up with a sombre tone, and we’re left to reflect on how painful growing up can be. And while the play doesn’t make us drink, it certainly leads us to the water around the social issues of men’s mental health, and the neglect of the rural corners of our country. I applaud Madd for writing and telling those stories.