The Art Of Falling Apart, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool. (2015).

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cast: Tim Lynskey,  Matt Rutter.

All good things must end, all exceptional pieces of writing and performing will live on beyond the final bow, the truth of the honest standing ovation and the lament that must come to us all; for in Robert Farquhar’s, Tim Lynskey’s and Matt Rutter’s outstanding The Art Of Falling Apart, the necessity of human experience, the sheer demand of Time and the complexity of the relationship between humanity and existence is there in all its brutally humorous and mischievous form.

The relationship between writer, Mr. Farquhar, and his two comedic, near legendary performers is such that the seamless and unspoiled by time play just gets better and better each time you watch it. Each separate viewing alludes to something that you know have missed the last time you were in the position of watching advertising salesman Callum start to disconnect with his life, the fragmentation of his relationship with his girlfriend/life partner cohabite, the desperation of strangers, their kindness, their rampant insanity and the joy of dark moments which strike home time and time again.

For Mr. Lynskey especially, this allusion to darkness was seen in his Mephistopheles like approach to the man who befriends Callum and introduces him to the best night of his life. It is in the eyes that an actor can ensnare you, the change in the gaze that somehow never comes through in the life away from the lights and the pounding boards, but the subtle difference in which the demonic becomes powerful, accessible and demanding. To see that happen in front of your own eyes is a pleasure, a handshake with the dark art; that should never be postponed.

Life is never smooth, it should never be taken for granted and never dismissed as simply the day to day affair of the cause and effect of getting into and out of bed, for Callum and the myriad of other characters that make The Art Of Falling Apart arguably the best 80 minutes that you are likely to have in all its confusions, misunderstandings and turmoil going.

To misquote one of the devilishly good strangers that Callum meets along his road to salvation, “If you could see it all again, you’d see it, all again.” The show may be over but the memories of one of the most original, painstakingly funny and adventurous theatre creations will live long in the thoughts of anyone who has the absolute fortune to see it being performed. An absolute must of Liverpool theatre in the last ten years, exhaustingly brilliant.

Ian D. Hall