Writer: Jack Condon
Director: Sarah Stacey
There’s a lot of conversation in the UK about immigration. It’s overly dominant, if anything. It squeezes out a much more important discussion around the impact of migration in general, people moving from one place to another. For much of the population it remains a historical topic (urbanisation during the Industrial Revolution) and a study of the big picture. This play drives an emotional point home that people migrating is very much a live and current issue and the way we do it today can result in a messy and ill defined situation for all concerned. Cities fill with entrants who keep one foot in their past lives, while towns (and the friends) who stay in them become left behind and underinvested in – resulting in social, economic, mental and physical health issues if not addressed properly.
Writer Jack Condon and director Sarah Stacey have combined talents to present this snappy, hard hitting and thoughtful view of a dynamic that is taking place all over the country but infrequently presented. James (Theo Ancient) has left the town to go to university, leaving behind his best mate John (Jack Condon), the crappy park, and the run-down amusements arcade. The play covers three visits James makes back home over the course of about eight years; bringing his new girlfriend Charlotte (Whitney Kehinde) to meet John (which does not go well), a second time to check in on him after a drink driving accident, and a third visit with a heavily pregnant Charlotte to try and come to terms with John’s apparent suicide. It covers a spectrum of difficult topics. While not poetic or ostentatious in its language it does so elegantly and confidently, ensuring it brings these tough issues to us in an accessible and emotionally vibrant way.
With the audience on three sides of a runway-style stage (designed beautifully by Anna Kelsey), there’s a closeness and intimacy that is impossible to escape from. In the uncomfortable moments, it’s like we’re Alex in Clockwork Orange, forced to bear witness to some incredibly painful interactions. With John being the one with the most visible trouble, these moments predominantly are concerning him. He’s a great character illustration of someone who thinks, who feels, but who struggles to communicate. We’ve all felt the frustration of those moments when words don’t come to fit our thoughts. The play shows what happens when this becomes chronic and is combined with difficult pride. We are ensnared by Jack’s intensity. Bludgeoning his way straight through nuance and vulnerability with the false confidence of the man who is fundamentally unsure and needs to hide it, he’s an engrossing presence. Accompanied by the more materially successful but similarly unsure James they make a sad pair that makes us simultaneously aware of big worldly problems as well as minute and saddening personal issues.
As Charlotte, Kehinde turns in a great performance, though her character is not given adequate time to fly. Coming across as quick to judge, irritating and uncompromising at first, Kehinde gets a chance in the latter half to inject some nuance to the character. Then we see a rich and tender portrayal of someone stretched just a bit too far by her being woven into the two men’s unhealthy web.
Between the three of them the dynamic of class and tonal subtleties in how they understand the world is immense. Well meaning but imperfect attempts to reach out to the other person are seen as attacks. As we come to know them, we see that underneath the layers there’s a substantial question of what is left when apologies, compromise, goodwill and patience wear thin.
There’s not a lot of answers here. But it’s doing a great job of highlighting important questions. It’s a sensitive treatment of big topics in a bullish and forthright manner – a well judged balance. As a debut play from the new company Jawbones Theatre it’s one they can be proud of and sets a high bar for their subsequent work.
Runs until 14 May 2022
The Reviews Hub Score
Sensitive treatment of big topics
