Writer: Jasmine Dorothy Haefner
Director: Jesse R. Tendler
A high-stakes art theft and a fierce investigation, 2-Faces is a wild but fiddly comedy that unfortunately leaves the audience wanting more.
After £1.2m worth of art is stolen, and the culprits are nowhere to be found, two Interpol agents are on the hunt for the perpetrators. But the widescale manhunt, resulting in murder and betrayal at every turn, doesn’t dissuade two accomplished art thieves from planning their next big heist. The subterfuge doesn’t stop there, as the very same people carrying out the thefts are surreptitiously acting as detectives in the investigation. But for one of the daring art burglars, it’s not just art that’s at stake, but the potential to uncover information on her long-lost family hangs in the balance.
2–Faces from Jasmine Dorothy Haefner Productions has the working for a solid piece of theatre. The show’s high points come from the effortless use of sound effects and text that is projected on the back wall transporting us from scene to scene with funny quips and puns. Kudos to the tech director and good rehearsal for seamlessly timed door slams. Direction from Jesse R Tendler means the small space of low-ceilinged Barons Court Theatre is used to its full potential, setting the scene for an intimate evening of entertainment.
However, the performance overall has a distinctly rushed feel and loses crucial bits of the story, leaving an overall feeling of confusion. Performers Jasmine Dorothy Haefner and Hassan Hope have great on-stage chemistry and good physical comedic ability. But the shaky British accents feel forced which means the audience loses a lot of the dialogue, and thus the plot. The accents dominate many of the comedic or sincere moments, resulting in a tentative and nervous performance. While the projected text on the back wall carries the audience from scene to scene, unclear multi-rolling only makes the complex plot more puzzling. For a production that describes itself as a comedy, there are few punchlines.
2 Faces has the groundwork for a great piece of heist-based theatre, and with some fine tuning a solid Edinburgh run could be on the cards. But garbled diction and a meandering plot undersell the potential of this play.
Runs until 27 July 2023 and then goes to Edinburgh Fringe
The Reviews Hub Score
Great potential
