'Hir' Park Theatre

[SPOILER] Review of 'Hir' at Park Theatre, worth the watch if your heart can handle it

It's a little crushing, walking out of the theatre after an abruptly tragic ending, your hope dragged out until the end then vanquished.

I really enjoyed Hir, though I was left feeling torn. It contained a lot of tough topics for one play which was impressive and kept me from knowing which direction it was headed. I had hoped that rather than an escalation ending in a tragic conclusion, there would be some emblem of hope to give us all optimism that the situation could change in the future. Rather it wasn't that at all and it was the misery of transphobia, misogyny and displays of domestic abuse that is already ordinary to real life as it is. If a play is not meant to offer us hope while highlighting what we already know, I am left wondering what the intended purpose for the audience of the play were. Because audiences are meant to be provoked and it did not inspire me to realise something needs to change and that starts with me.

They indulge the fantasy of a happy family as the brother becomes more accepting of their non-binary sibling, and appears to be heading in a positive direction for character development. The family dynamic revolving around the brother becomes increasingly dark but they ultimately must return to a new normal once again without him.

It will never be a bad thing to comment on current society and add a fresh perspective. I just would like a line drawn from reality to fiction to make it more enjoyable, and I think it would have stayed with me longer, so I don't think ending it tragically was the best thing for this play. However, even during the play I was in a rush to see it again, awe-struck by the performances.

So it is worth the watch, but your heart will have fully sunk to the bottom of your stomach as it ends and you will have to deal with your heart breaking in the moments as you walk out of the theatre, fully accepting that there will be no satisfying conclusion. Though some stories are not meant to be experienced more than once, being deterred is not an ideal reaction. I cannot in my heart recommend it as strongly as I would have liked to.