A stunning cast, impeccable direction and a sharp, witty script make this play about sex, success and self-knowledge a must-see. Certainly, Salman Rushdie, who was on the end of my row, seemed to enjoy it, although I’m not sure what he made of the goody bag containing a vibrator; perhaps the men got something different.
As her father lies dying of a brain tumour, Bella (Charlotte Randle) is celebrating her 29th birthday in a bar. Friends and former lovers discuss love and sex but tensions are running high and soon the theoretical becomes personal; the tumour seems to be a metaphor for all that is wrong with Bella’s world. Usually plays set in bars or at dinner parties are disastrous - writers can’t write small talk and directors can’t conjure up an appropriate atmosphere (a moratorium on productions of Abigail’s Party at the Edinburgh Fringe, anyone?) but Nina Raine is bang on with both. The characters are ones we half recognize and the awkwardness of the situation is well-observed, as is the polite small talk which manages to be horribly familiar without resorting to cliche.
Subtlety is the key here and Raine’s conclusion is quite brilliant in its understatement. The discordance of her characters is powerfully replicated by an electric cast. Charlotte Randle vacillates between bravado and vulnerability as Bella; Susannah Wise is cocksure (so to speak) as Sandy, a predatory journalist and Rocky Marshall demonstrates great comic timing as overwhelmed city boy, Tom.
Production information can change over the run of the show.
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