How does the truth affect us?
Missing People is a collaborative production between the Leeds Playhouse and the Kani Public Arts Center, a Japanese theatre venue. Written by Brad Birch, the show was due to be performed this Summer, before being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Luckily for us, a recorded production has been released onto YouTube, by the collaborating companies, to tide us over until we hear about the possibility of live performance dates.
Sakiko (played by Susan Hingley) and her fiance Dan (Simon Darwen) are heading to Japan to meet Sakiko’s parents. They are both accompanied by Dan’s mother, Linda (Ishina Bennison). Upon their arrival, everything seems to be going well, but Sakiko’s parents seem to be very distant towards their daughter, and unwilling to address certain unspoken issues between them- especially in regards to her currently absent brother. Tensions arise among the group as each person deals with what they imagine the truth to be, and untangle the difference between what they believe and what they actually know to be true.
As a collaboration between two theatre companies and cultures, Missing People works very well. Scenes flit from being spoken in English and Japanese very quickly, with characters translating onstage and subtitles being projected onto the set behind the performers. Some moments of the in-script translation also serve as interesting character beats; when Sakiko translates her father’s account of their family history and slightly undermines it, “started a company” becomes “bought a store”, illustrates exactly how she views her cultural connections and family history.
The production’s main appeal is its script, which manages to balance moments of humour, intrigue, suspense and genuine heart throughout the two-hour runtime. The plays thematic focus of how our inability to be truthful to ourselves, and those we love, is demonstrated again and again in moments that range from subtle (Sakiko asking Dan not to tell anyone she lost her job, and Dan telling Linda anyway) to more overt examples which I won’t spoil for any future audience members.
Often, I felt that the production remained a little too focused on some characters’ dynamics than others (Dan and Sakiko’s relationship gets very little actual development), but the rest of the connections are engaging to the point where, when that focus is there, it’s very good.
There’s also some really solid acting throughout the play, with each performer having a lot of conflicting emotions and different tensions to present. There’s no weak link in Missing People‘s cast, but Hingley and Natsumi Nanase (Sakiko’s mother, Chiyo) are definitely the strongest performers. Together, their scenes are particularly engaging.
The dialogue throughout the play is captivating no matter what language it’s in, and whilst there’s not much done in terms of interesting staging, there doesn’t really need to be- what is lacking in directorial vision is most definitely made up by Birch’s impressive script.
Missing People tells a compelling story in a very engaging way. It’s such a shame that the production has only managed to be released in video format. You can really tell that this is not a production made for viewing in this way; as with most digital screenings, the video fails to capture the play in its entirety, as it must have originally been. Still, I’m certainly glad that I had the chance to watch it. In fact, I wouldn’t mind owning a copy of the script myself.
Words by Mischa Alexander.
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