Writer and Director: Chris Leicester
What is real justice and who truly deserves to administer it?
In Chris Leicester’s play, 180° Chord, this question is posed with all of its moral and ethical greyness. Hitting the basement stage at the Barons Court Theatre in London, this new work delves into the depths of a criminal underbelly fraught with injustice and pain.
John Gray, played by Paul Findlay, is a former cop thrown into a prison cell at the moment that an intense riot breaks out, throwing the entire complex into anarchy at a moment when he is at his lowest. To come to his rescue is Connor ( Vincent Fox), a well-spoken criminal overlord turned friendly cellmate, who takes John under his metaphorical wing as they dash about the prison while guards are murdered and chaos reigns supreme.
When entering the theatre, the audience is met with bare staging: only a bed, a couple of chairs and some odds and ends inhabit the space. To the corner are a toy bear and a small railway set, which hold part of the stage as signifiers for what is about to unfold.
The play is anchored by two leads who power through the play with competent degrees of emotion and gravitas. Fox is amusing and sinister at the same time as Connor, detailing his criminal escapades with a sense of sincerity that is only compounded by his cool, calm and collected demeanour. Findlay has arguably the more difficult job, as the plot tends to jump backwards and forwards in time at a moment’s notice, giving him little wriggle room to breathe between instances of intense, gut-wrenching emotion and the detached version of himself that he plays in the past.
The story is tightly focused and allows both actors to shine in their respective roles. Some moments do present themselves as too expository or overdone in their execution, such as mentionings of time and place that could be evident from the scene itself. Leicester’s writing deals with the topics of murder, crime and mental health with a good degree of tact, leaving impressions and images which are born to stick with you once the play is done.
The intimacy of the Barons Court Theatre lends itself well to the intensity of the show, something that may have been dulled in a larger space. The use of sound could be much improved, as some elements do come across as quite cheap, but do convey what is necessary without sullying the experience.
180° Chord is an intimate performance that showcases the strengths of its two actors well, while delving into the edges of a prison life thrown into chaos, wrenching forth the traumatic backgrounds of the main characters.
Runs until 24 February 2024 and continues to tour
