★★★★✰
‘Sticks and stones may break my bones, but…’
Not all injuries are visible and can be fixed with a cast. Suffering in silence often remains the common coping strategy, while any psychological strain is seldom acknowledged. Lewis Aaron Wood’s play Bones skilfully spotlights the issue of mental health in sport as well as its relation to gender expectations. Produced at the Park Theatre in association with Redefine and LooseHeadz, the leading mental health charity in rugby, the piece is a true passion project of its creators.
When front row-player Ed faces the challenge of carrying his team in the upcoming divisional semifinal, his bottled-up mental health struggles seep through to the surface, much to the dismay of his teammates, who are now forced to confront their own behaviour and choose between a potential victory and the well-being of their friend.
The audience is immediately thrust into the middle of the game where not even a white line separates the patch of grass forming the stage from the front row, who becomes part of the rugby team itself within the first minutes of the performance. The standout movements directed by Daniel Blake bring the action even closer and brilliantly convey the physicality of the sport to the observer. The actors are frequently tackled, hover mere inches over the ground in scrums or pass and kick rugby balls precariously close to onlookers across the small stage. Yet the brutality and danger are defused by captivating acrobatics and the compelling use of chalk to combine rugby’s athleticism with movements in theatre. The juxtaposition cleverly mirrors Ed’s own relationship to rugby, transitioning from refuge to a source of anxiety—”What do you do, when your safe space isn’t safe anymore?”
While Bones also addresses mental health struggles outside the pitch, its emphasis lies on rugby and its psychological impact. The extreme physicality entails a high risk of injuries, in the play even once compared to physical abuse, and brings with it the prospect of retiring by the age of thirty with a cane. Combined with the pressure of performing as part of a team or even leading it to victory, the demands on a player’s mindset are high. They can get even higher through a culture of toxic masculinity, where strength and performance, on the field or in the pub, are valued above all else and emotions are rarely discussed. The heavy keg becomes the symbol of those priorities, frequently lifted onto the stage by the performers.
As an ensemble piece at its core, the play’s strength lies with the group of actors who effortlessly bring to life the team dynamics that can be both harmful and supportive. Their funny banter lightens the serious subject, yet forces the audience to confront their own attitude when laughing at vulgar jokes. Ronan Cullen as Ed convincingly portrays the struggling rugby player and succeeds in bringing the character’s precarious mental state to the outside without exaggerating his emotional vulnerability. Similarly, Ainsley Fannen and Samuel Hoult give perfectly nuanced performances of Ed’s teammates that hint at insecurities and their own respective burdens, be it the role of the cheerful entertainer or the pressure of being ‘alpha male’ and team leader.
While the ending seems slightly predictable or cliche and could have benefited from a more age-appropriate casting of Ed’s father, despite James Mackay’s solid performance of the emotionally removed parent, it ultimately, fittingly, starts the conversation that needs to be had in rugby and sport in general in order to address and remove the taboo around mental health.
Words by Melanie Haller
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