The Comeuppance

Almeida Theatre, 2024

The brief: Autumn 2022. A group of friends gather hours before their high school reunion. 20 years have passed since graduation: some have had children; some have moved to the other side of the world; some have been to war. And as they catch up and reminisce, it only takes a scratch for the scars of those school days to surface. But there’s another presence in their midst – Death has come ‘for work’, and reflects on the role they’ve played in every member of the party’s lives up to then.

The artwork shows the group on the porch, all looking lost in their own thoughts. The fact that they’re ignoring the camera, the voyeuristic angle shot through a plant, as well as some subtle change of colours and light that give the image a slightly supernatural feel, hint at Death’s presence.

Photography by Vicki King