An intense and immersive drama, following the lives of two teenage brothers surviving a childhood of instability and neglect.
‘Yen’ is an immersive dive into the lives of two brothers, aged 13 and 16, who are living alone in a flat, with little to no support from the outside world and a family who are almost safer to avoid. It explores the effects on their growing up, and the harsh reality of life when left to their own devices at such a young age.
I found this play enthralling. The acting and writing were both of a very high standard and while it was hard to watch in places, I couldn’t help but be mesmerised by the story. The small, intimate venue was perfectly suited, as it really felt like we were there in the little flat with them. The set was simple, depicting the room with a single mattress on the floor, a window and a chair, but an unusual but integral feature of the set was a TV set up with a PlayStation. This was obviously a big part of the boys’ lives: for a lot of the play, one of them would be on the PlayStation as life happened around them – either as a coping mechanism or a way to pass time. From where I was sitting, I could see the screen clearly and I found myself watching the game whilst listening to the conversation in the flat – which is exactly the perspective of the brother holding the controller. To allow the audience the mix of that sense of detachment, with the inability to actually escape the situation was genius.
As the story progresses, we meet their mother who visits occasionally in a drunken state and begin to understand how they ended up in this situation. The dynamic between hyperactive thirteen-year-old Bobby and reserved, traumatised sixteen-year-old Hench was portrayed to be tense and loving and difficult, and not everything in the plot is explicitly described – rather inferred through conversations and emotions. For the majority, this was brilliant and somehow weaved subtle storytelling with intense drama, however I was a little confused at times. The boys’ dog, named Taliban, was a running theme and felt like a metaphor for their trauma: they didn’t know how to look after or control it, and it haunted them every night, despite their fervent attachment to it. Ultimately the boys meet a girl called Jen with a similarly complicated situation yet a better outlook on life. Her presence brings a burst of light and then shade into their lives, highlighting the effects of their suffering on the outer world. Can the chain really be broken?
The cast, made up of Adam Owers, Jonny Grogan, Lucy Eve Mann and Vicky Binns were outstanding. Despite the three teenage characters being played by older actors, the story was told so well that it barely mattered. Of course, without good writing and direction from Anna Jordan and Connor Goodwin this wouldn’t have come together as effectively, and the whole team deserves celebrating.
Parts of this play were violent, parts were tender, and parts were funny. The range was impressive, and it’s not one to forget. I would recommend this with a warning of intensity and explicit content, but as a piece of art that shouldn’t pass you by.