August 2022 – NMT Automatics

Tempus Fugit: Troy and Us is showing at Army @ The Fringe and is a blending of stories; that of a young couple, soldier and wife, and of Troy, particularly Andromache and Hector, and the parallels between the two stories. I am putting a trigger warning for those with PTSD in this review before you go so you are prepared for it, especially for veterans.

Tempus Fugit: Troy and Us is acted by two cast members who have amazing chemistry that seems genuine and considering that Genevieve Dunne and Noah Young are married off stage, it is no surprise that they work so well together within their respective role of Bea and Alec.

The production takes us through the highs and lows of significant love that we can all only hope to experience, and how that love can be tested during hardships and pressures that can only really occur in the army.

The relation between Bea’s life and Andromache’s is clearly presented during the production. Not only are Genevieve and Noah exceptional at conveying emotion through their expressions, but they are also exceptional at conveying emotions through their body movement, and this is abundantly clear during the segments with masks.

There is a lot of technical work that has gone into this production and the sound wonderfully complements what is happening. This production is a perfect example of how minimalism in terms of set and props will not always take away from the strength of a performance.

Genevieve’s transition between scenes and emotions is flawless, like one continuous journey. Each of the emotions expressed by both Genevieve and Noah feel natural and not synthetic. There is a section of the performance where Bea and Andromache are mirroring each other, then touching each other, and this was beautiful to watch. Noah’s physicality of movement during the slow-motion scenes were both brilliant and an effective illustration of how PTSD can impact the life of those who come home, and those who love them.

The story of Tempus Fugit: Troy and Us is very well crafted, well-acted and well composed. It touches sensitively but fully on important issues related to the life of the wife of a serving soldier. It is hard hitting, deeply moving, almost haunting, and entirely compelling. This is a must-see piece of theatre whose relevance will never fade.

by Bee Parkinson-Cameron

A show putting women’s experience at the forefront of war stories
Breaking through the clichés of masculine heroism
A young family’s challenges of staging a Fringe show

In their masks they take us back to the Trojan War, and the tragic fate of Mighty Hector and his wife Andromache

Unmasked they appear on stage as Bea and Alec – an Army officer’s wife facing the trauma of her husband’s declining mental health and the risk of death he faces in repeated tours of duty in Afghanistan.

In real life Genevieve Dunne and Jonathan D’Young are a married couple in the challenging situation of coming to Edinburgh Fringe from East Anglia and staging a show while also caring for their 9-month-old son Orien (and dog Suki).

Staged at part of Army@TheFringe, and running until 28 August, their show Tempus Fugit: Troy and Us digs deep into the myths and exposes the realities of conflict, putting women’s experience at the forefront.

Created by NMT Automatics, it combines mask work, dialogue and physical storytelling to look beyond the warzone to explore female courage and endurance.

The production has been praised as a “Truly an enactment of the phrase ‘Theatre of War’.” ★★★★ LondonTheatre1 and a “masterclass in text-based realism… physical storytelling and mask work” PocketsizedTheatre.

Its co-creators and performers Genevieve Dunne and Jonathan D’Young carried out interviews with military families in order to ensure its authenticity.

The result is a story that intertwines the ancient Greek tale of Hector and Andromache with that of Bea, a 21st-century British soldier’s wife and her husband Alec who struggles to re-assimilate after returning from Afghanistan.

Bea gets drawn into a radio adaptation of The Iliad. Mask work is used to present the fantasy relationship Bea develops with Hector, the ultimate hero, who stands in stark contrast with the demon-haunted Alec.

Jonathan said: “Putting on a show is always demanding, but having a young child adds a whole other dimension. There’s the childcare during performances and while we are putting on workshops.

“And then there’s the sleep deprivation that comes with having a very young child – which is something else to throw into the mix of tension, stress and high emotions involved in producing a show at the Fringe.

“Fortunately we have had a really good deal being part of Army@TheFringe and that has helped take some of the financial risk out of it – as a young family we can’t afford big risks. We have also had support from The Classical Association and have been doing workshops.

“So while we’ve been working on a very low budget we have been able to make sure that everyone is paid at full Equity rates.”