The Unreturning
Theatre Royal, Stratford East

THIS intricately designed poetic drama, weaving together the narratives of three war victims, has all the hallmarks of director Neil Bettles’s work with Frantic Assembly.

Staged around a revolving, shape-shifting shipping container,  skilful choreography and synchronised movement blend the tortured experiences of a first world war shell-shocked soldier, a contemporary disgraced Camp Bastion squaddie and a refugee from a martially governed futuristic dystopia who are all attempting to return to their northern British homes and regain something of the past.

Along with former trainees of Frantic Assembly’s training programme Ignition, Bettles has transformed Anna Jordan’s play into a beautifully crafted indictment of the often-forgotten victims of war who are unable to come to terms with their traumatic experiences and the transformation of the emotional and physical landscape that awaits and belies their homecoming expectations.

The four outstanding male actors create the contrasting rhythms of the different eras, multi-roleing friends, family and characters from the outside world. Jared Garfield’s 1918 uncommunicative infantryman, still battling with his experiences in the trenches while attempting to adjust to the needs of his wife, captures a more repressed and formal generation of lost souls.

Joe Layton’s very recognisable working-class squaddie, rejected by both the army and family for an outburst of extreme brutality captured on social media, is just as much a victim of current conflicts. His tough physicality and boozy excesses are no answer for his psychological state, rejection and deception.

Although Jonnie Riordan’s refugee is from a bleak future, the tempo of  his contrasting performance is one of stoical endurance, suppressed fears and an overwhelming desire to be reunited with family —ubiquitous qualities amongst refugees.

Adding to the outstanding physical performances are Pete Malkin’s immersive sound design and Andrzej Goulding’s versatile set and video designs. Rarely has such a featureless item as a shipping container taken on so many forms and provided so many levels for performance yet remained so coldly impersonal.

Enhanced by projections of lost comrades, rain and the sea it grounds the physicality of the performers in their bleak homecomings.

Running at 100 minutes without an interval this powerful, original production is spellbinding and should not be missed during its upcoming tour.

Runs until February 2 box office: stratfordeast.com and then tours nationally until March 1, details: franticassembly.co.uk.