What is the true meaning of protecting one’s children? Besides keeping them away from electrical sockets and burning stoves, how does one protect them? Or more importantly, what should one protect them from?
“Synapses” depicts a divorced couple who sit down one evening over a cup of tea and discuss the impact that their separation has had, and will have, on their son. The characters Mike (Liam Wilson Smyth) and Emily (Molly Downey) embody two very different approaches to this conversation. Mike is concerned with protecting his son from being negatively affected in any way by their divorce, while Emily accepts the inevitability of it: “If we’re gonna fuck him up, let’s do it in a new cool way!” These two different approaches force us to ask ourselves which is better: revealing our complex emotions and identities, or keeping our children in a bubble of ignorance? The conversation, which started off as an attempt by Mike to mediate his relationship with Emily, quickly shifts into a whirlpool of arguments, confessions, and a mix of pleasant and not-so-pleasant flashbacks from their relationship.
The characters’ different approaches to parenting are accentuated by their remarkably different personalities. As Mike operates on emotion and Emily operates on reason, you could say that any attempt at reconciliation was doomed from the start. The play begins with Mike entering the kitchen after dropping their child back to Emily for the week. Immediately, we are introduced to his childlike qualities as he seeks the approval and praise of Emily in many different ways. He attempts small talk, comments on the condition of the walls, and offers to fix the broken electrical socket — any excuse to stay a little longer. Meanwhile, Emily is counting down the seconds before he leaves. Mike’s sarcastic comments, wit, and attempt at normal conversation are hilariously pinned up against the wall by Emily’s brutally honest remarks. Emily’s disinterest, disregard and disapproval of Mike would be enough to turn anyone around and head straight for the door. However, despite the improbability of having any sort of productive or healthy conversation about their relationship, he stays. There is a sense that Mike’s attempt at reconciliation masks different motives.
Throughout the play, there is a sense that the only reason Mike wants to salvage his relationship with Emily is to make sure that their son is affected as little as possible by their separation. However, Emily wanted him to stay for her. It is in this confession that we now understand Emily’s distaste for Mike. Since they parted, he has been using her to make sure that his relationship with his son isn’t damaged. This ends up becoming the play’s key message: Is sheltering your children from the harsh realities of life, marriage, and parenthood worth jeopardising other relationships?
There are a few directorial and technical decisions that worked quite well in assisting the script and the performers with the numerous transitions in the play. Sound designer Daniel Montague O’Brien and lighting designer Ciara Meehan bring the play to life with sporadic electric shock effects, zapping the characters back and forth into different moments of their relationship. The sudden change in lighting, and jolting sounds made the audience jump from their seats. This may sound a little exaggerated, but I swear I could smell the smoke from my seat. The performers moved pieces of furniture and props in preparation for their next scene in these pauses of dialogue, which allowed for smooth transitions. Another directorial and technical collaboration that is worth noting is the use of spotlights on Mike and Emily when they are directly talking to their son. Speaking directly outwards towards the audience, from the edge of the stage, when addressing their absent son, creates a metamorphic, enlarged version of the parents — an image of how their son would probably envision them: big, larger than life, invincible.
So what should we protect our children from? Rather than sheltering them from the inevitable difficult parts of marriage, parenting and divorce, should we not fix the hazardous broken light switch hanging from the wall instead? But Mike and Emily eventually did fix it, and the light worked again. Maybe even better than it did before.
We all dream of being the perfect role model for our children: big, larger than life, invincible. “Synapses” reminds us that there is room for imperfection and change in parenthood, and that we can start again and learn to embrace a new normal.
