People, Places and Things
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People, places and things — the key to the 12-step recovery porgramme — are the three trigger points that can knock any recovering addict off course and send them crashing into their own personal hell.
Avoiding the people, places and things that drive your addiction will lead to rehabilitation and salvation.
That’s the theory and when years of drug and alcohol abuse finally catch up with Emma, a struggling actor, she has a break down during a performance of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull and, seeking a quick cure, checks in to a rehab centre. Once the nerveshredding cramps, delusions and hallucinations subside, surviving the detox is the easy bit.
But then, the real nightmare begins.
Forced to join the group sessions with fellow addicts and to lay her soul bare is a step too far. Her scepticism and hostility threaten to destabilise the whole group’s recovery.  
This may sound somewhat depressing but Duncan Macmillan’s excellent script, which digs deep into Emma’s neurosis, has moments of surprising lightness, with some very funny observations on the mind of an addict.
The production hinges on the performance of Emma and Lisa Dwyer-Hogg is outstanding as the troubled actress. She commands the stage as she rails against a cultish, quasi-religious programme that demands her total honesty.
There is strong support from Matilda Ziegler as the doctor/therapist whose almost evangelical belief in the rehab programme ensures she never gives up on Emma.
Bunny Christie’s clever set, stark and clinical, literally comes alive as multiple Emmas seep out from the walls, floors and furniture and her cold-turkey hallucinations resemble a bad acid trip.
Although his play is about drug and alcohol addiction, Macmillan is never judgemental.
He understands the nature of addiction and that it is not only the addict whose life is destroyed but also that of their family and loved ones.
The final showdown between Emma and her frustrated parents is painful, suggesting that there may be limits to a parental patience and the support they are prepared to give a child who is hell-bent on self-destruction.
Does the 12-step plan work? Some people may stop drinking or using but it sure as hell doesn’t address the pressures of real life which fuel their addiction.
Highly recommended.
Runs until October 7, box office: homemcr.org then tours, details: headlong.co.uk