Sea Wall / A Life Tickets

Sea Wall/A Life a two-act monologue show that rides the theme of death. Sea Wall is written by Simon Stephens, who is known for his work ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’ and ‘Heisenberg.’ He beautifully weaves in the metaphor of the underwater sea wall and its deceptive nature with the nature of human life. It is acted out magnificently by Tom Sturridge who has played memorable roles in ‘1984’, and ‘Orphans.’

A Life is written by Nick Payne, who has attempted at bringing a ray of sunshine in his writing a show which is essentially about death. He is known for his works ‘The Sense of an Ending (Film)’, ‘Incognito,’ and ‘The Art of Dying.’ His character Abe has been soulfully depicted by Jake Gyllenhaal, who has a prolific work across Film, TV, and Theatre. His best-known work has been in ‘Nightcrawler,’ ‘Brothers,’ and ‘Nocturnal Animals.’

Carrie Cracknell, the director, has done a fantastic job of creating a common thread and making sense of the shows that were originally separate productions. Watch Sea Wall/A Life for a highly relatable narrative that explores the themes of death, life, and fatherhood. It will tug at your heartstrings and leave you contemplative of the gift of life itself!

The show is a double bill which features two separate monologues ‘Sea Wall’ and ‘A Life.’ Both the stories deal with death and its impact on those left behind. Sea Wall features Tom Sturridge as Alex, a photographer who is happily married and has a young daughter. The story flits back and forth between the impending birth of his daughter and in recent memory when the family was on a French seaside holiday to join his father-in-law on vacation. Something terrible happens, and the story moves on to how Alex manages his grief.

The second story, ‘A Life’ features Jake Gyllenhaal as Abe, a music producer, who is coming to terms with the recent death of his father and the impending birth of his daughter. The connecting thread between both the pieces is the topic of death. As Abe puts it, there are three kinds of death, the physical death when the person dies, emotional death when the body is buried and the eternal death when our names will be said out loud for the last time on Earth.

Death sneaks in unannounced, but it is the human mind that grapples with it continuously and tries to make sense of it. Despite its morose subject, Sea Wall/A Life is an insightful and emotive peek into the lives of Alex and Abe.

Jake Gylenhall Fans| Fans of emotive and poignant drama