The great Etienne Decroux defined the perfect stage performer as one with "the body of a gymnast, the mind of an actor, and the heart of a poet." In other words, Decroux was defining Bill Buffery and Gill Nathanson. In their second visit to the Fringe, the Devon-based couple presents their latest work, Backward Glance, which is a complex tale centered on the death of a famous woman writer, whose husband, another writer, is left trying to explain the events surrounding her death and his mysterious disappearance afterward. With its fluid, nonlinear narrative (think of it as a spacial collage), the husband (played by Mr. Buffery) is confronted by a journalist, an interrogator and his wife's mother, all played skillfully by Ms. Nathanson. In their short play's marvelous juxtaposing of the physical and metaphysical realms, there's even a harrowing hunt for the dead writer in the underworld. The writing is crisp, often grimly humorous, and offers many opportunities for associative leaps - from the marriage of Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath to Orpheus' descent in search of Eurydice. The performances are first-rate, with every word and gesture clothed with meaning, and Ms. Nathanson's physical plasticity is a marvel. Highly recommended.
Steffen Silvis, The Prague Post, May 2009

How many stories can be told in a lifetime? How many stories can be told of a life? And how many stories can be told timelessly?

A woman has died. She was a writer, a poet, a mother, a daughter, a celebrity... But in death, she becomes a construct; a story that changes depending on who’s telling it. In this spectacular production Multi Story Theatre Company live up to their name, building for us, out of a small claustrophobic front room, a skyscraper of competing narratives from which to view the world and its equivalent layers of indeterminate truths. With exceptionally strong performances from Gill Nathanson and Bill Buffery, the actors moved through conversations and interactions between a husband and his shape-shifting female counterpart. The woman visually mirrored the photographs of his dead wife but physically adopted roles from the many aspects of her life, embodying a mother, a journalist, an investigator, and the ghost of the wife herself. Meanwhile her husband, in struggling to explain the uncertain circumstances surrounding her death, and in an effort to bring some cohesion to these shifting perspectives, idealises their personal story using grand and epic narratives borrowed from ancient Greek mythology. The transmutability of the woman through this telling and re-telling of her story, and the many stories she as a writer, told in life, causes her to be described as a past, present and future portal through which all of human life and experience can perhaps be glimpsed. The convergence of these layers in this woman as a vessel, hinting towards the notion of paralleled and simultaneous existence.

The performances were exceptional, often creating an intensely claustrophobic feel and sending many a shiver going down the spine. The only criticism I have of the play was its ending which was rather confusing, though I imagine its ambiguity may have been intentional as this was a play which unfurled questions for its audience, leaving plenty to ponder in its wake. The climax of the piece seemed to see myth and reality combine in the figure of the husband who becomes accountable for upholding some basic sense of morality. The media functioning as a modern-day mythology, of needing someone to worship and someone to blame – just as these roles have been lived out over and over again in different versions throughout human history - from the early morality plays to the magazine scandals of today.
Alice Trueman, BroadwayBaby.com, May 2008

Backward Glance is a powerful examination of how and why men and women come to such different explanations for the loss of love and even of death from love. There are only two actors but they create an epic of ancient and modern storytelling.

A writer comes in for interrogation after his celebrity wife dies in strange circumstances. He (Bill Buffery) faces fierce questioning from a journalist  but also from the dead woman’s mother and from a sinister female figure hellbent on punishing him to encourage better male behaviour (all played by Gill Nathanson). But he's trying to bring his beloved back from the dead, as Orpheus did in his mythological journey to find his wife in the Underworld.

It's a complex and absorbing show, moving swiftly between settings and characters, and using computer projection behind veils to create the tenderness once shared by the couple. There are shocking moments, brilliant lines and wonderful acting in a play that glues you to your seat.

Richard Howe (official Fringe reviewer), June 2008

First of all I should say that, I have seen Multistory before and kind of know the performers involved.

Multistory (Bill and Gill) are responsible for the best children's theatre I have ever seen and I'm probably the kind of audience member they hate because all I ever want them to do is "The Firebird" again.... and again.

"Backward Glance" is not for children, it is an emotional, almost lyrical examination of the myth and fantasy we create to cope with loss and grief. Although sometimes uncomfortable, the performances (sometimes almost dance-like) are genuinely gripping and moving. Weaving into a very modern tale the journey of Orpheus and his journey to hell and back could not have been easy, but once again Multistory have more than enough talent and skill not just to show that they understand it, but to make you understand it also.

Fantastic well done!

Mark Ashmore

Emotional, powerful, thought-provoking.  Make sure you see this!
Ellie

The best I’ve seen you do.  Powerful, loving, hateful, angry – great!
Pete

Powerful, absorbing, moving, emotional, fantastic – whew!
Julie W

Absolutely brilliant writing & acting.  Don’t miss this.

An esteemed writer with the popular touch dies in shady circumstances. Her husband, also a writer, must face three women – an investigator, a probing journalist and a grieving mother – to explain himself and their life together. Did he feel eclipsed by his wife’s talent, her brighter star? Was he guilty of marital neglect or a crime more tangible?

With a razor-sharp script – and excellent use of scene-setting digital imagery – Backward Glance delves deep into the creative process, exploring the genesis of inspiration, the notion of authenticity and the impact on the psyche. There’s a touch of magic realism that channels both the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, and taps into the idea of ‘assisted’ inspiration so beloved of the Romantics. In his intense portrayal of one half of a literary partnership, Bill Buffery allows us to make the not-so wild imaginative leap to another ‘power’ couple who danced with the dark side of creativity – Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath. Through the female characters (Gill Nathanson slips between them with seemingly effortless ease), the script unpacks the notions of perception, memory, and the mythologies that we create about ourselves and those we love.

You know how a move trailer can sometimes totally ruin your experience of the film? It would be a joy to unpack some of the scenes in Backward Glance and shout about their power, their complexity and the compelling performances of the two actors, but this play is worth seeing with as little preamble as possible – the narrative is so intelligently constructed and the story so tantalisingly revealed (it demands your close attention and rewards it), that I’d be in danger of giving too much away.

Go and be thrilled.

Belinda Dillon Devon Life, January 2012

A highly recommended intense play

Backward Glance is an intense, hour or so long, performance focusing on the husband of a recently deceased, hard drinking, famous woman.

The husband, an unrequenting, hardnosed character himself, is analysed during the play by three ladies – a journalist friend (with whom he has had a one night stand) who is writing for the many loyal fans of his recently deceased wife, a police interrogator (suspicious that he murdered his unfaithful wife) and the wifes grieving mother.

The acting in the play is superb, sucking you into the play brilliantly and the scenes are set well by changes in lighting and backdrop. One factor that works well is how the timeline of the play is represented by the drinking of a bottle of wine consumed by the reporter and the husband.

Overall a very intense but clever play about the breakdown of relationships and different ways people grieve.

Recommended.

Josh Adamson Phonic FM, January 2012