Last Monday I went along to one of the final screenings of Deep Cut on show at The Tricycle Theatre in Kilburn. I’d never been up to Kilburn before, so had a bit of time to walk around the high street and grab a bite to eat. There seemed to be far too many kebab stores for my liking and didn’t really have that much time so ended up having dinner at Nando’s instead. The other places along the high street made me think how different the modern, bright and artful Tricycle Cinema and Theatre seemed slightly out of place. Anyway, on to the play.

Deep Cut focuses on the story behind a series of apparent “suicides” at the Deep Cut Barracks between 1995 and 2002. The play focuses particularly on perspective from the family and friends of Cheryl James, one of the officers who died during this period and the anguish, puzzlement and anger they went through seeking proper closure on Cheryl’s death. The play does a great job at presenting all the details behind their story, the unanswered questions, and the frustrations of a government system that failed to apply due diligence in what appears like a simple cover up.

We sat in the second row from the front, but since the theatre probably only fits a hundred and fifty, I’m pretty sure everyone else felt the same way that I did. The combination of the moving dialogue and the clever way that they pieced the story together really made me feel for the family, and particularly concerned with the way that the other parties involved failed to repeatedly apply due consideration over a series of events.

It’s a shame that this play doesn’t continue for a while more, although I’m glad that it did get a fair amount of press coverage from newspapers like The Guardian.

TheKua.com Rating: 9 out of 10