Writers: Siofra Dromgoole and Gráinne Dromgoole
Director: Avigail Tlalim
The first words of this piece signal a crushingly depressing thought. It’s set in modern London but, we’re told, it could easily be the start of the 1600’s when the play that inspired it is set. And entirely nothing has changed.
At Peri and Cass’ wedding party, held at the house they and their friends squat in, their absentee landlord shows up and has an accident. Coming to with Cass coddling him back to consciousness, he instantly becomes infatuated with her. He calls it love, but it’s an angry, cruel sort of obsession and sets off a chain of events to separate her from her new wife and make her his own. Using every lever available to him as a wealthy landowner, his attention and greed are destructive forces the group are forced to navigate – all while coming to terms with their own issues of sexuality, substance abuse and cashflow.
Echoing Peribañez, the Spanish play by Lope de Vega, the clear storyline of a landlord trying to take what’s not his is always going to take the tone of righteous social commentary. It does careen into preachy, bitter territory but does a fair job of highlighting how non-mainstream communities experience modern London. While the story is effective, it’s unfortunately hard to find tension with these characters. They’re entertaining for sure, but none becomes truly interesting beyond the clear role in the narrative they play (the abusive landlord, the new wife who entertains his advances, the angry and bullied new spouse, the double agent, the “idiot savant”).
As the landlord, Os Leanse is just what we want to see in a baddie character. He’s fantastic dealing with Jeremy’s public-school confidence that, like an oil slick, coats and obscures a range of faults from his bad business practices to his misogyny and selfishness. Gráinne Dromgoole, also co-writer, takes the role of Cass and gives the whole play its emotional depth in the sections where she (post-wedding) tries to come to terms with what fidelity and bisexuality means to her.
The musician Plumm is present throughout, with a beautiful line of highly atmospheric and effective vocals and loops which help turn the VAULT’s Cavern stage into a space far more absorbing and intimate than should be possible.
This update of Peribañez is a clever vehicle for comments on today’s precarious gap between those with social and financial power, and those without. Bringing the discussion on fidelity and sexuality up to date as well is welcome. It’s unnerving how easily it fits with the centuries old story. So while Siofra and Gráinne Dromgoole’s script does hammer in the message, quite bluntly at times, it’s a pleasure to experience rather than a chore.
Runs until 19 February 2023
