Precious Little Talent – Orange Tree Theatre, London

Writer:EllaHickson

Director:Dominique Chapman

Reviewer:Richard Maguire

If the directors taking part intheDirectors’ Festivalat The Orange Treeare the future of theatre, then we can expect some exciting times ahead. In the hands of Dominique Chapman,Precious Little Talent, a fast, fast-talking comedy about transatlantic relations, shines as bright asNew York’s Chrysler Building.

On arooftopin the city that never sleeps, 19-year-oldSam meets, improbably, an English woman called Joey. Sam talks like a wisecracking film noir private investigator, narrating his inner thoughts to the audience. Joey, silent and mysterious, is hisfemme fatale, and together they explore Manhattan. But hold on, the scene quickly repeats itself and things are not quite as they seem.

This is the New York of American writer PaulAuster; unknowable, fragmentary and, of course, postmodern. We are neversure where we are,even when the play seems to fixitselfto show how Sam and Joey bondlookingafter her sick father, holed upin an apartment ashamed of his illness.

As Sam, Matt Jessup is jaw-droppinglygood; he easilyconveys an American wide-eyedand wide-armed optimism, spouting epigrams from fortune cookies as if they were truths, believing that a motto on a car bumper could save a life one day. It’s hard not to get swept away with his enthusiasm especially as Joey(RebeccaColllingwood) displaysahard-nosed British cynicism, whichisat odds withthe demeanourof hernew friend. Completing the cast ispyjama-cladSimon Shepherdwho’sconfused, and addled with booze.

Together, under Dominique Chapman’s direction,they give electric performances that buzz like the lamps that stand in for the skyscrapersof New York. Eleanor Bull’s designgives us steam from the subways, the fire escapes of the hi-rises, andthe chandeliers of Grand Central Station. While set on the eve of Obama’s presidency, this is The Big Apple of Bogart and Hepburn.

Bothstereotypingthe other’s nationality,Sam and Joey haven’t got a chance, but at least Sam has hope for a new America. EllaHickson’splay is a timely choice by Chapman, coming when America seems to have lost this hope.Precious Little Talenthas big ideas, but Chapman, an MA student from St Mary’s University on a course that allows her to work closely with the Orange Tree, is sure that these ideas are smoothly unpacked through the play’s comedy.

And it is very funny, the 75-minutesfly by, and it fits well withKatieJohnstone, another play at the Festival,as both explore the fatalism inour lives. Perhaps Sam, however irking his positivity is, has got it right after all. This slick examination of what it means to be British is surprisinglymature and sanguine. Unlike the title of this play, all involved,especiallyJessup andHickson,have talent by the bucketful.

Runs in rep until 21 July 2018| Image: Robert Day