Escaped Alone / What if if Only
Royal Exchange Manchester

IT may seem absurd to describe two short plays as epic. But Escaped Alone, running at just under 50 minutes, and What If If Only which doesn’t even hit the half-hour, are exactly that. 

These extraordinary plays by Caryl Churchill pack such a punch you leave the theatre rolling like a boxer. They are full of ideas, inventiveness and thoughtful insights. 

Churchill sets us the challenge “to make of it what you will.” It’s like standing in front of a Braque masterpiece and trying to interpret what it means. The plays need a great director and former Exchange artistic director Sarah Frankcom is the perfect choice. Her skill at understanding how to present them, without irrelevant distractions, is excellent.

In Escaped Alone three elderly women sit in a garden enjoying the sun and a cup of tea, chatting about family, friends, TV and shopping. A stranger, Mrs Jarrett, spies them through the gate and decides to join them. Her presence clearly disrupts the group. While appearing to engage in their conversations, her brain is exploding with rage as apocalyptical visions of the future play out in her tormented mind. Her visions make Hieronymus Bosch’s view of hell seem like a garden party. 

Annette Badland, Souad Faress and Margot Leicester are superb as the three friends. Maureen Beattie is outstanding as Mrs Jarrett. She’s the spectre at the feast carrying the future of humanity on her shoulders. 

Ghosts play an important role in What If If Only. A beautiful study of grief and loss. Someone, we have no name, (the wonderful Danielle Henry) is trying to come to terms with her sorrow and loneliness, while desperately hoping for a different future. Suddenly the ghost of the future appears, teasing her with the prospect of changing things. What if, if only there could be an alternative path. But there is no future, there is only a now. The decisions we make now shape the future.

This is very much Churchill. There is no point sitting back wringing our hands saying what if or if only. We all have a stake in the future and we all have a duty to take a stand. Each of us needs to demand better.

Caryl Churchill knows all about principles. She has more moral courage than most Laureates and artists. Stripped of her European Drama award in 2022 because of her support for Palestine, she doubled her commitment to the Palestinian people and the BDS movement. A true warrior and humanitarian. Probably one of the greatest playwrights of the 20th and 21st century.

Runs until March 8. Box office: (0161) 833-9833, royalexchange.co.uk.