A success in every regard, deeply human and emotive
It’s hard to praise Attachment enough. Currently on a very limited premiere run at the Liverpool
Everyman, this one woman play by Julia Cranney, directed by Kate Treadell, deals with themes of
motherhood, grief, love, and – in the words of main character Mat – “learning to be this happy.”
Paislie Reid delivers a truly exceptional performance as Mat, powerful and heartfelt. She often talks
directly to the audience, looking into the crowd and locking eyes. Every joke lands, and every
emotional moment is met with a hushed, rapt audience, eyes pricked with tears. Mat feels so real and
loveable, and you root for her desperately the whole time while also nervously awaiting – as does she
– for something to go wrong.
The play follows Mat, somewhat of a loner with a traumatic childhood behind her, as she recounts
meeting her partner and his daughter. With a strict sense of routine and idiosyncrasies she has built up
to protect herself, suddenly she is navigating family life with a man who grew up full of sunshine and
knowing he was loved. She worries she will push him away with her habits, that she can’t blurt out I
love you every five minutes, and that she won’t know how to deal with his six year old girl. Then they
find themselves in the complex, emotional process of adopting another child.
The set, designed by Ellie Light, is simple and effective; one room with a sofa, a small cupboard, a
stool – and the broom she uses to continually sweep away problems and doubts that fall onto the stage
in the form of shredded paper. The whole play feels like a spiral. We know where it’s headed from the
first scene, with blue lights and a sombre mood set in the now, but it takes its time getting back there,
with Mat’s recollections in a warmer, softer light as the people she loves first enter her life. But just
like in life, with each new stage and new happiness, there are always more doubts and issues to face,
one balancing the other. We are sometimes jerked in ‘glitches’ back to the present, with blue lights
returning and a new load of paper spilling onto the floor.
Even the characters we don’t meet, her partner James, his ex-wife Helen, and their daughter Grace,
feel very real and human. Those you want to hate or cast as villains, like the uncooperative ex, are
ultimately also shown to have depth and warmth to them. Overall, despite its trials, Attachment is
truly a play about love and connection, and finding joy, ending with a powerful message of hope and
resilience.
With the 2010s bringing us smash-hit one woman shows such as Phoebe Waller Bridge’s Fleabag and
Michaela Coel’s Chewing Gum Dreams, there are some powerful predecessors to Attachment, but it
can hold its own against any of them, thanks in large part to actress Paislie Reid’s stunning
performance. The entire audience was on their feet in rapt applause at the end of the night for very
good reason, and adds a jewel to the crown of the very successful collection of the Everyman’s
homegrown ‘Made in Liverpool’ shows.