David Eldridge Ends his trilogy at the National Theatre
- GutBer English
- 7 days ago
- 5 min read
Updated: 6 days ago
End is the final instalment of David Eldridge’s trilogy of plays for the National Theatre, also made up of Beginning and Middle, in which he follows the story of a couple, any couple, in three pivotal moments of their relationship. Each of the plays is performed by a different pair of actors. This time it’s the turn for Saskia Reeves (Slow Horses) and Clive Owen (Children of Men, Closer) to play the middle-aged couple in a particular moment that seriously affects their relationship bringing to a definitive End.
From our fantastic seats on the left side of the stalls, we are faced with a living room and kitchen in a London town house – all neat and tidy. Alfie (Clive Owen), an ex-Dj with terminal cancer, tells Julie (Saskia Reeves), his life-long partner and a writer, that he’s decided not to continue with the treatment, which means the end is near. He’s got a life expectancy of a year and he doesn’t see the point in trying any more. Their daughter is visiting for dinner and he’s asking Julie to help him tell her. But Julie doesn’t necessarily agree. There are lots of things to discuss. Alfie wants to make the arrangements for his funeral, choose the music, his great passion. We are taken on a trip about their relationship with their parents, with their daughter, with their jobs, and mostly with themselves and their expectations of each other.
What initially sounds like a very depressing topic, turns out to be full of jokes and comedic moments, getting from the audience smiles of understanding and even laughter at times, probably nervous laughter, since we know from the start what we’re dealing with here. The language is direct and blunt, full of puns and swear words, the two characters teasing each other constantly, reflecting the privacy of the conversation they have for an hour and a half without an interval. The upbeat music playing loud at times and the actors dancing to it also help to break the drama and give us time to reflect as do the intentional silences, which also transmit the intimacy of those moments when words are unnecessary and deep care is shown in little routines. These moments reveal how they feel about what they’re going through and how they’re facing it become hugely emotional, allowing us to see the patient and the carer as well as the friends-couple who need to come to terms with the raw reality, sometimes individually as well as collectively.
Alfie is tired, crippled from his condition, only concerned with ending it all, sometimes selfishly, which we can’t really blame him for given the circumstances. Julie is tired, too, but full of life and plans for the future, almost trying to ignore that there is little future in life as they know it. Patient, caring, protective, but also brave and positive, she’s preparing for her life afterwards, like preparing a plan B. She’s got reasons to do so. In her grim situation, there is hope. Alfie sees no hope, but takes it with very funny dark sarcasm and acceptance. Is there really no hope?
The stage is familiar and functional, a third character in itself, full of details that reveal the past of these two people and their connection with the arts as a DJ and a writer, careers that are addressed in the dialogues, and light. There are records and books, a Hi-Fi system that becomes part of the action, paintings and household items, and of course, tea making. The entrance glass door is at the back on the right hand corner, almost hidden from view and keeping the rest of the world outside, only intervening at the end to bring us back to the fact that this situation is not only about Alfie, not only about Alfie and Julie, but also about everybody in their lives. The world outside the couple, however much they try to keep it at bay, will also have a part to play.
End is an emotional and sensitive play that takes us to moments we don’t really want to see, but that are part of life: how to face illness, terminal illness, the certainty of an unavoidable end round the next corner and how to reach that point with dignity despite the fear and the pain, keeping an eye on the past while taking a glimpse into what’s surely coming from the here and now, when one can still enjoy stuff despite the physical limitations that inevitably bring you down, but when life can still bring new unexpected sunshine coming from the garden window and the birds chirping, or from the main door, who knows? While there’s life, there’s hope is the final message and though things might seem terribly bleak, every day is a new day. Alfie trying to control what happens after he dies is just a reflection of his fears, but the here and now might eventually become more relevant and insightful.
Both actors master the stage and the characters beautifully. Playing everyday people in everyday situations is probably the most difficult thing to do right in terms of acting, but the always wonderful Saskia Reeves and the impresive Clive Owen create two very believable people that reveal their close intimacy getting to our hearts and minds from the first moment with that silent, pensive look through the window. The audience follows their conversations and silences, accompanies their jokes and their sarcasm, gets in their flesh and takes them home with them because they stay with you, and laughs and cries alternatively, reflecting the ups and downs of a relationship unwillingly facing the end.
We saw End at the Dorfman Theatre from the second row in the stalls for £10 from the Friday Rush of the National Theatre on Saturday 3rd of January 2026, evening performance, in very cold weather and starting the year with an end, but it was more than worth the visit to meet these two representations of our selves. The show is now ended, but it will be shown at cinemas on NT Live (https://www.ntlive.com/) and streamed on NT at Home (https://www.ntathome.com/) under subscription or rental.
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