Bluets review with House of the Dragon star Emma D'Arcy and Ben Whishaw

The billing of BAFTA winner Ben Whishaw and House of the Dragon’s Golden Globe-winning Emma D’Arcy was the bait for many who tried to snag a ticket to this largely sold-out adaptation of Maggie Nelson’s book about heartbreak and depression. But this abstract, tech-heavy production from live cinema pioneer Katie Mitchell is not the sort of vehicle that will place either in the running for more awards.

They are two strands of the same character, with Kayla Meikle playing the third. Stood in front of mics facing the audience, they finish each other’s lines while collectively manifesting the murky thoughts of a woman struggling to cope in the wake of a painful breakup. 

They are resonant performances, though. Whishaw brings a brooding melancholy to the unnamed character, while D’Arcy captures her fret through teary eyes and chewed lips. Meikle seems more accepting of her lot, but also more isolated.  

Instead of focusing on the wider, multi-stranded story, Margaret Perry’s adaptation is a deconstruction that obsesses over some of its recurring themes. Her character is fixated on a final sighting of her ex heading to the seaside with his new lover. And through some impressively slick use of cameras and screens, the cast - acting live, never leaving the stage - appear to be superimposed into scenes playing out in the back streets of Brighton, or on lonely journeys through London. 

It’s theatrical video design at its best, but in a production that’s already challenging its audience to keep up with a fragmented, non-linear story and a character split in three, its busyness can make for a confusing watch. 

This is new artistic director David Byrne’s first commission for the larger, downstairs space at the Royal Court and it sets the tone for a premier season that promises to bring in leading talent while committing to daring, experimental theatre. It’s exciting to see him backing more work by Mitchell, whose excellent production of Little Scratch was previously revived at Byrne’s last haunt, the New Diorama. 

Bluets takes its name from its character’s love-like obsession with the colour blue. The stage appears tinted in tones of it, while footage on the screens flits from a swimming pool to the seaside and a bird’s nest filled with blue treasures: a bottle top, a sweet wrapper and marbles. Its pensive character clocks the colour’s references in culture too, from literature to the music of Joni Mitchell and Billie holiday, the philosophy of Plato and the art of Van Gogh - noting how it often signifies a depressive, suicidal state of mind.

It’s gloomy stuff, but that’s not what stops this production shining: despite the tip-top cast, compelling source material and the smooth incorporation of technology, these elements don’t gel and often seem in conflict with one another on the cluttered stage. 

Bluets the book is praised for its vivid, empathetic depiction of living with depression. Here, any attempts to foster our compassion are overshadowed by an ambition to woo us with style.

Bluets is playing at the Royal Court until June 29