Review: AN OAK TREE, Young Vic

Divisive and challenging, Tim Crouch is a one-in-a-century playwright. Whether you agree with his methods or not, his artistry is unmatched. He interrogates form and style, delivering live experiences rather than straight drama. An Oak Tree is still a pivotal piece for many.

Now celebrating the 20th anniversary of the play, Crouch invites one unrehearsed actor to perform with him each night. His counterparts haven’t seen the script, creating a thrilling power exchange for the two-hander. The plot is simple enough: a father who’s lost his daughter gets the chance to face the driver who killed her, a hypnotist (Crouch). The two meet when the father volunteers to be part of his act. Crouch carries the action by giving brief scripts or feeding the lines to each performer (softly into their ears, into a mic through to earbuds worn by the other, or aloud to their face). What ensues is dramatic art being created on the spot. It’s experimental theatre, made palatable to the general public, where you feel like you’re the experiment. It’s magical and miraculously touching.

Once the rules are set, the show has already started. An intertwining of realities unfolds, with Crouch toying with non-linear emotivity. He dips in and out of the main timeline freely, interrupting with directions and other indentations: cold reminders of the pretence of it all, but also a guide and a footprint of sorrow. Though Crouch’s character is confidently awkward, he’s an ominous personality. He runs over his words before immediately dissipating any wavering into fervent clarity. Descriptions of loss and anguish coexist with lighter check-ins that alter the dynamic further, making An Oak Tree a humourless dark comedy. The events that lead up to the catalyst death are beautifully told through a collection of carefully worded emotions and vibrant colours. This isn’t the sole example of sophisticated long(er)-form writing we find.

The project is full to the brim with tender, heartbreaking portraits, mostly of the child: hair on a bar of soap, flowers tied to a lamppost, an ethereal, ubiquitous presence. Rare silences fall, profound and loamy. Jessie Buckley took the stage on press night, but the list of talent is remarkable – from David Tennant and Michelle Terry to Luke Thompson and Indira Varma – and bound to bring something new to the table. The flow was flawless, but the whispered instructions can take up quite a bit of space sometimes, arresting the pace and teasing our unquenched curiosity. The consequences actioned by Buckley were intense, minimal, with all the information received used to build into a final heart-wrenching climax. Her grief-stricken eyes and furrowed brow break into controlled emotion and the occasional (scripted, maybe?) laughter.

Every move Crouch makes blends reality and fiction to destabilise his audience, compelling them to feel in a sneaky coup de main. An Oak Tree remains an excellent gateway into the potential of experimental theatre. Trends have changed and innovation has leapt and bounded since then, but the piece is as imaginative, striking, and emotional as it was at its premiere in 2005. A master of discomfort, Crouch continues to surprise and daze without hiding anything. His process is laid bare on a relatively empty stage, an offer for everyone to take what they need - emotionally, theatrically, or existentially.

An Oak Tree runs at the Young Vic until 24 May.