Arguably the flip side of Tawni O’Dell’s When It Happens To You (which was also recently performed at Park Theatre), Carey Crim’s 23.5 Hours (which is directed by Katharine Farmer) examines the effect on one family of a husband/father accused of rape. Before we’re get to the ‘meat and potatoes’ of the play, we’re introduced to the accused in question – Tom Hodges (David Sturzaker), his wife Leigh (Lisa Dwan), their son Nicholas (Jem Matthews), and the Hodges’s closest friends Bruce and Jane (Jonathan Nyati/Allyson Ava-Brown).

It’s established early in the play that as a drama and English teacher, Tom is dedicated and popular with his students. Having just directed a production of Romeo & Juliet with his students, he enjoys the success of the show’s run and comments are made about “Juliet’s” stellar performance, giving off an aura ‘beyond her years’. The celebrations are short-lived, however, as Tom is later accused of having sex with the student who played Juliet… The real marrow of the play, however, is the aftermath of Tom’s homecoming, after spending two years in jail…

While the play in one sense pivots around Tom’s guilt/innocence, Dwan is the emotional linchpin of the show, as Leigh wrestles with circumstantial evidence and other people’s opinions versus her own conflicted emotions. But as the title of the play suggests, while Leigh spends most of the time convincing herself of Tom’s innocence, every now and again she can’t deny the doubts that surface and wonders if she is mistaken…

To some degree the wrestling with doubts/truth is reflected in responses of the best friends. Jane has no doubt in her mind of Tom’s guilt and bans her daughters from being anywhere near him. However, this in itself affects her relationship with Leigh, who now distances herself from anyone who isn’t supportive. Bruce’s response is more nuanced. While verbally he subscribes to Tom’s innocence, reading in between the lines, Bruce would admit that he would understand if ‘relations’ took place between Tom and the student, as physically at least she is very ‘developed and mature’. Mentally and emotionally, however, is a different matter… As for Nicholas, we see in Matthews’s portrayal a character full of anger and pain – much like a raw nerve, with no internal way of ‘switching off’ the world outside…

Now for the ‘elephant in the room’… In our post-#MeToo world, ‘accusations of impropriety’ are treated in some quarters more earnestly than before and it has long been acknowledged that non-consensual sex is often perpetrated by men in positions of authority. However, the play also acknowledges through its various discourses that the pendulum in some quarters has swung completely the other way. And while in theory people accused of sexual assault are ‘innocent until proven guilty’, in our post-truth, social media world, anyone in the public eye is on trial in the court of public opinion. Only the rich and powerful who can afford superinjunctions are able to deflect attention for a time. Also, like people who have been ‘diagnosed’ with mental health issues, refuting accusations of sexual impropriety are often treated as affirmation of guilt.

Rather than outright state whether Tom is guilty or not, the play deftly handles the mental and emotional conflicts, and each character’s reason for thinking/feeling as they do. In the case of Leigh and Tom, the foundation of their relationship is understandably reappraised, leading to some very uncomfortable soul-searching questions…

© Michael Davis 2024

23.5 Hours runs at the Park Theate until 5th October.