The Cord review

Sheibani affirms Ash’s fear of rejection as paranoia, symptomatic of his depression: Anya and Jane are reasonable women who both love him. It’s implied that Jane also suffered from post-partum depression and this is the root cause of Ash’s insecure attachment style. Conversations between them are fraught, with Jane reassuring as Ash intensely questions her. But the idea of emotional neglect as cyclical is most vividly explored as Ash imagines propping up a teetering Jane while cradling his son.

On Samal Blak’s prop-less, carpeted stage, actions such as rocking the baby or driving in the car are mimed under Aline David’s movement direction, while details such as a picture wall in Jane’s home are realised through description. The four pillars cornering the stage clearly symbolise the stability Ash craves, while the neutrality of the home suggests that these struggles of early parenthood are universal. A chair is propped against each pillar, one of them occupied by cellist Colin Alexander, whose tense compositions neatly reflect Ash’s angst. 

The in-the-round staging can be awkward: the characters hide their emotions in pivotal conversations, so when they’re also speaking with their backs to us, the intent is too obscured. The focus is on Ash, the action pivoting between his interactions with Anya and Jane, and some conversations – which play out in real time – grow tedious. Still, Sheibani’s sensitive writing and confronting of an under-explored topic are commendable.