'It is not as if an “I” exists independently over here and then simply loses a ‘you’ over there’ [...] If I lose you [...] then I not only mourn the loss, but I become inscrutable to myself’ - Judith Butler
Part-cult, part-funeral, Near To explores the paradoxes of grief.
When we lose someone, we lose parts of ourselves. And yet within these voids there is the space to generate new stories and new hope.
In Near To, three people try to make sense (or nonsense) of their grief. Through sharing their stories, the mundane and fantastical coalesce into an unconventional eulogy, or rather, a fierce love-letter to life, in all its absurd variations.
Ultimately, Near To asks how remembering and re- imagining can be tools for healing, joy and transformation.
Tobi King Bakare and this theatre deserve a shout-out for such a young, diverse audience. There is so much talk about audiences being full of over 60s and why, why can’t theatres get the crowds in to reflect society in general? Well, I’m happy to say that on a rainy Thursday evening, the theatre was completely full.
Caiti Grove on Before I Go in CPT's Spring 2023 season London Theatre Reviews
