Nesting

Nesting puts a father confronting motor neurone disease and assisted dying alongside a daughter going through IVF, with an absurdist anthropomorphic seagull appearing to embody the father’s anxieties. From there the play drifts into dream sequences, biblical imagery and the question of whether the seagull is real or exists only in his mind.

The audience has to undertake considerable work in finding meaning here, but there is plenty to be made. Though importantly, the writing does not impose, and never preaches, partly due to the layers of comedy and increasingly compounding absurdity. The first half is genuinely hilarious; the second becomes darker while retaining its wit. The verbal comedy is particularly strong — very dry, politically witty and occasionally very silly.

The seagull gives the production an odd centre of gravity, but the ambiguity works because the show gives you enough material to keep thinking about what it means. Michael Guest’s performance as the Gull is especially committing, making a very strange character work tremendously well, contrasting Billy Mack’s layered vulnerability as the father.

A very funny, strange, and rich piece of theatre.

Nesting by Trolley Problem. Credit Alex Brenner.