On The Edge review: A triple bill of touching dramas, all with a welcome splash of optimism
On The Edge (Ch4)
As a passionate fan of heartfelt storytelling and someone who has spent countless hours dancing in the hallowed halls of yesteryear’s Palais dancehalls, I must say that Channel 4’s On The Edge series truly resonated with me. The poignant tale of Dora and Ray, played beautifully by Eileen Davies and Anthony Welsh, was a bittersweet journey through the trials and tribulations of love, dementia, and the passage of time.
About four decades past, Ray Davies from the Kinks expressed a sense of nostalgia over it: “They constructed a bowling alley,” he crooned in Come Dancing, “where once stood our local dance hall.”
A wistful longing for the closed-down British dance halls served as a poignant element in the final piece of a set of three short plays by emerging authors, which were part of the On The Edge series.
In my perspective, I found myself deeply moved by Natalie Burt’s portrayal, “The Final Countdown.” This poignant story unfolded the heartrending impact of dementia on a marriage that originated amidst the rhythmic beats of the Sixties dancefloor. As I (Dora, played by Eileen Davies) struggled to manage basic tasks like feeding and dressing myself, it wasn’t my condition that was the core issue, as my grandson Terry explained to a social worker.
Ray, her spouse, found it unbearable to imagine her moving into an assisted living facility. “It’s as if I’m losing my power source,” he worriedly expressed, expressing his distress.
Tired of constant inquiries from well-intentioned friends and neighbors about Dora’s wellbeing, Ray decided on an unconventional response. He confessed, “I might have jokingly said that she was, well, to put it bluntly, deceased.”
In a heartwarming and well-tied conclusion, Dora embarked on a journey, wound up in an abandoned palace, and reminisced about past memories.
In a natural and easy-to-understand manner: Ray accepted what was coming, the council arranged for Dora to stay at a nursing home nearby, and they would often dance to songs from the groovy ’60s during their nights. I’m guessing there were some Kinks tunes played among them.
If the ending of that story leans a bit overly cute for believability, it’s preferable to have an uplifting tone instead of one that is tragic or dismal. Each of these stories, all revolving around ‘dealing with change’, culminate in a hint of optimism.
In this story, the rising star Luna Mwezi portrays Faith, a teenage girl under care, who feels a deep yearning to reunite with her biological mother but also harbors a sense of appreciation for her foster parents. Anthony Welsh delivers an impactful performance as Gabe, a man striving to be the caring father he never experienced himself, which sometimes becomes overbearing and annoying to Faith.
In the narrative penned by Beru Tessema, the focus was on Gabe’s boxing facility. While some might find his character overly inspiring, almost too good to be true, this aspect took a backseat in the brief play we’re discussing.
In the realm of storytelling, the realism wasn’t my primary concern with the initial and less compelling drama, “Wet Look,” a modern reinterpretation of Hans Christian Andersen’s classic fairy tale, “The Little Mermaid.” Instead, I found myself more focused on the narrative itself and its ability to captivate me as a viewer.
Tanya Reynolds played the character of Gwynn, a water-dwelling girl who, after falling in love with a human (Iwan Rheon), lost her tail. Initially, it seemed as if this story could symbolize the struggles of transgender individuals: ‘I feel confined in this body and I despise how it makes me feel,’ Gwynn lamented.
Instead, it took on the symbolism of how a severe illness can make individuals feel like strangers in their former lives. However, Toby Parker Rees managed to deliver the most hilarious joke of the trilogy when Gwynn dove into a two-handed meal of shellfish sushi, which was quite delicious indeed!
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2024-08-06 02:19