Hotels are not homes, no matter how hard they try. They might imitate the comfort of a home, synthesise the idea and aesthetic, but there is always something missing – a sense of dislocation, and the lingering idea that any roots put down here might wither by the time you return.
It is fitting then, that Song From Far Away – HOME’s revival of Simon Stephens and Mark Eitzel’s 2015 ambient monologue musical – takes place entirely within the confines of a suite. Delivered by Will Young’s Willem – a nomadic, New York-based banker called home to Amsterdam following the sudden death of his brother – this dislocation, both geographic and emotional, hangs over everything.
In Amsterdam, Willem meets with old friends, spends time with his family and writes a series of letters to his late sibling Pauli, but it is only in the latter he finds himself free of miscommunication and misunderstanding. For Willem, connecting with the people and places around him is near impossible, regardless of whether they are intrinsic parts of this so-called ‘home’ or just passing details.
