SONG FROM FAR AWAY Young Vic

A 34-year-old Danish banker returns home to attend the funeral of his brother who has died at 22 of a heart-attack. Simon Stephens’s play, written in a series of letters to his late brother, is, in part, a search for the meaning of life. Danish actor Eelco Smits, speaking in English and totally naked, reveals all, emotionally and physically. It is the sheer detail which the actor and director Ivo van Hove bring to this 75-minute monologue which makes the staging so effective. The performance, versatile and varied, a tour de force, ends with a haunting song by Mark Eitzel.