Writers: James Alexandrou, Kate Kelly-Flood and Dominic Morgan
Director: James Alexandrou
In their new play developed out of Actors East Theatre, writers James Alexandrou, Kate Kelly-Flood and Dominic Morgan have applied improvisation-based methodology to the creation of their 65-minute relationship drama, Casserole, which has its premiere at the Arcola Theatre. Creating the final performance from a workshopped approach, the result has some very naturalistic dialogue in which the central couple find ways to pull at each other within the rapid escalation of domestic concerns, but the play struggles to sustain its dramatic momentum across a complete narrative arc.
Kate returns home early from a prestigious event to find boyfriend Dom has created a mess with litter and bike parts all over their home. Frustrated by his slovenly attitude, Kate asks him to come back to the event with her, but their departure is delayed by a series of petty arguments emerging from their fundamentally different attitudes to grief.
Casserole has a really strong premise, a real-time drama in a very classic tradition that continually sees characters deterred from achieving their goal – in this case to go to Kate’s Awards evening. That is nicely managed in both the writing and Alexandrou’s directorial management which convincingly dovetails the weak points of their relationship with the day-to-day niggles of living with someone. That these are amplified by Kate’s evident success, Dom’s unexplained unemployment and some family battlegrounds set the drama up well.
But the impact of Casserole’s improvisational origins gives the play a moment-to-moment feel that allows conversations to drift a little or become overly repetitive. A one-act single-location drama needs concealed chapters made up of waves of discussion and activity that move the story forward. This play relies instead on revelations to motor the plot which is fine but there needs to be managed phases to the drama as well to create shape, perhaps breaking the piece into segments where the audience is inducted into the nature of Kate and Dom’s relationship dynamic, how their jobs affect their lifestyle and the role that family plays in uniting and dividing the couple.
As it stands, we learn relatively little about either of them and, while there is lots of ingrained bitterness that emerges through their conversation, the audience knows little more about either Kate or Dom by the end of the play. Alexandrou, Kelly-Flood and Morgan foreground responses to grief in their text but the heart of the story is the connection between Kate and Dom of which their different attitude to bereavement is symptomatic, so some deeper character excavation would make this a much stronger story, showing all the obstacles growing between them and letting the audience wonder whether or not they should stay together.
Kelly-Flood as Kate has the most to work with; her character is self-sufficient with a busy life outside of the flat and Kelly-Flood manages the changes of tone well across the performance. It would be interesting to drill further into those family relationships, particularly a closeness with brother James, as a further pressure point in her domestic life. Alexandrou’s Dom remains at a singular pitch of thoughtlessness and needless aggression which makes the character hard to sympathise with. But there is more here to explore including feelings of powerless or disconnection about his employment status, perhaps even a fear of leaving the flat as well as the dedicated care of a terminally ill relative.
This Casserole has lots of juicy ingredients, but the idea needs to simmer for a little longer before it is ready to serve.
Runs until 30 March 2024
