REVIEW
Lost Atoms
4th November 2025
Mercury Theatre
Balkerne Gate,
Colchester CO1 1PT
Lost Atoms
4th November 2025
Mercury Theatre
Balkerne Gate,
Colchester CO1 1PT
A very physical and thought provoking play
When this play began, it was obvious that it was going to be an unusual concept. The stage was bare apart from a back wall of what looked like filing cabinet drawers from floor to ceiling. Two armchairs were pushed on and off, whilst a lit frame surrounded the stage.
Immediately two actors began to climb the wall using the drawer handles as foot rests and, twisting themselves into various poses and positions. This continued throughout the play, which tells a familiar story. Jess and Robbie, meet, lose touch, meet again, fall in love, live together, and then the relationship begins to breakdown. Along the way, there are introductions to family, loss, pregnancy, infidelity and humour, all handled brilliantly by just the two players.
This two hander, played by Joe Layton and Hannah Sinclair Robinson is an unusual take on relationships. It shows that two people look back on events in their life from a different perspective. Robbie, is an introvert, who trains young people how to cook, and is still suffering from the loss of his mother as a child. Jess, meanwhile, is a brash, hyperactive young woman who is studying for an MA in fairy tales. This is the first hint that maybe they’re not well suited.
Each scene moves the story along, differentiated by the crashing of electronic music and flashing lights. The backdrop is also used as storage. Various drawers are lit up and opened to retrieve changes of clothes and props used in each scene. There are golf clubs, wine glasses, photos and lightbulbs and at one moment, a drawer is used as a toilet.
However, there is a disconnect between scenes that means at times I was unsure whether we were in the past or present. It was only when a character occasionally challenged the memory, I realised that it was one person remembering things differently. The narrative became clearer in the second half, as it became more obvious that the characters are mis-remembering the past.
At the end, Hannah opens a box to retrieve lights and waves them around as she tells tales of what their relationship could have been, if they’d remained together. The question being, is this a metaphor for life as a fairy tale. Is it a stretch too far to imagine there is a connection with the lights and the performance of the fairy Tinker Bell in Peter Pan?
The two actors worked very hard, particularly when undertaking physical theatre. They climbed over each other, tying themselves into knots, physically bending into choreographed contortions. They also dangled on a sloping platform that represented a bed, all the time delivering dialogue. This must have been difficult to sustain. They should be complimented on a highly energetic performance.
It would have been helpful for the theatre to provide some programme notes to help with an understanding of the writer, Anna Jordan’s intentions. I had to do my own research, as even the meaning of the title was unclear to me. Apparently, it concerns atoms that diffuse over time and are lost like the memories of a relationship.
In my view, it was a very self- indulgent production with the prolific use of four letter words, which were unnecessary and rather gratuitous.
As the majority of the audience appeared to be groups of young students, I wonder if this play was written to be analysed for the sub text by theatre students. Discuss. Perhaps I was not the targeted audience.
It was an interesting production and the two actors did very well in what must have been an exhausting night’s work. At the end, there was very enthusiastic applause from the students who obviously loved it.
Review : Jacquee Storozynski-Toll
Tickets available
Tue 04 Nov 2025 - Sat 08 Nov 2025
Duration:
Approx. 2hr 20mins, incl. interval.
Price:
£15.50 - £35.00
(inc. £2.50 ticket levy)
Age Guidance:
14+
Warnings:
This show contains adult themes including sex, pregnancy, grief and loss. There is use of strong language, flashing lights, haze and sounds of retching.
https://www.mercurytheatre.co.uk/event/lost-atoms/
Box Office: 01206 573948
The tour continues:-
Connaught Theatre – Worthing
Tues 18 – Sat 22 Nov 25
The Lowry – Salford Quays
Tues 11 – Sat 15 Nov 2025
Mast Mayflower Studios – Southampton
Tues 25 – 29th Nov
Bristol Old Vic
Tues 13 – Sat 24 Jan 2026
Lyric Theatre Hammersmith
Thu 29 - Sat 28 Feb 2026
Immediately two actors began to climb the wall using the drawer handles as foot rests and, twisting themselves into various poses and positions. This continued throughout the play, which tells a familiar story. Jess and Robbie, meet, lose touch, meet again, fall in love, live together, and then the relationship begins to breakdown. Along the way, there are introductions to family, loss, pregnancy, infidelity and humour, all handled brilliantly by just the two players.
This two hander, played by Joe Layton and Hannah Sinclair Robinson is an unusual take on relationships. It shows that two people look back on events in their life from a different perspective. Robbie, is an introvert, who trains young people how to cook, and is still suffering from the loss of his mother as a child. Jess, meanwhile, is a brash, hyperactive young woman who is studying for an MA in fairy tales. This is the first hint that maybe they’re not well suited.
Each scene moves the story along, differentiated by the crashing of electronic music and flashing lights. The backdrop is also used as storage. Various drawers are lit up and opened to retrieve changes of clothes and props used in each scene. There are golf clubs, wine glasses, photos and lightbulbs and at one moment, a drawer is used as a toilet.
However, there is a disconnect between scenes that means at times I was unsure whether we were in the past or present. It was only when a character occasionally challenged the memory, I realised that it was one person remembering things differently. The narrative became clearer in the second half, as it became more obvious that the characters are mis-remembering the past.
At the end, Hannah opens a box to retrieve lights and waves them around as she tells tales of what their relationship could have been, if they’d remained together. The question being, is this a metaphor for life as a fairy tale. Is it a stretch too far to imagine there is a connection with the lights and the performance of the fairy Tinker Bell in Peter Pan?
The two actors worked very hard, particularly when undertaking physical theatre. They climbed over each other, tying themselves into knots, physically bending into choreographed contortions. They also dangled on a sloping platform that represented a bed, all the time delivering dialogue. This must have been difficult to sustain. They should be complimented on a highly energetic performance.
It would have been helpful for the theatre to provide some programme notes to help with an understanding of the writer, Anna Jordan’s intentions. I had to do my own research, as even the meaning of the title was unclear to me. Apparently, it concerns atoms that diffuse over time and are lost like the memories of a relationship.
In my view, it was a very self- indulgent production with the prolific use of four letter words, which were unnecessary and rather gratuitous.
As the majority of the audience appeared to be groups of young students, I wonder if this play was written to be analysed for the sub text by theatre students. Discuss. Perhaps I was not the targeted audience.
It was an interesting production and the two actors did very well in what must have been an exhausting night’s work. At the end, there was very enthusiastic applause from the students who obviously loved it.
Review : Jacquee Storozynski-Toll
Tickets available
Tue 04 Nov 2025 - Sat 08 Nov 2025
Duration:
Approx. 2hr 20mins, incl. interval.
Price:
£15.50 - £35.00
(inc. £2.50 ticket levy)
Age Guidance:
14+
Warnings:
This show contains adult themes including sex, pregnancy, grief and loss. There is use of strong language, flashing lights, haze and sounds of retching.
https://www.mercurytheatre.co.uk/event/lost-atoms/
Box Office: 01206 573948
The tour continues:-
Connaught Theatre – Worthing
Tues 18 – Sat 22 Nov 25
The Lowry – Salford Quays
Tues 11 – Sat 15 Nov 2025
Mast Mayflower Studios – Southampton
Tues 25 – 29th Nov
Bristol Old Vic
Tues 13 – Sat 24 Jan 2026
Lyric Theatre Hammersmith
Thu 29 - Sat 28 Feb 2026