Reviewed by Lee Farley
It’s 2012 – England get knocked out of the Euros on penalties, Mo Farah wins a gold medal. We hear the commentary between scenes to remind us. Torben Betts has written a comedy about modern life – struggling to pay the rent, worrying about the kids’ future, downsizing to a Northern town. The play is widely compared to Ayckbourn, but lacks any of his subtleties or understanding of how people behave. Torben Betts writes with broad, obvious brush strokes. This is unchallenging, old-fashioned 70s-sitcom style comedy which has nothing interesting to say about modern life.
Emily and Oliver are stereotypes of liberal London. They leave a Karl Marx book on the coffee table to impress the neighbours (cue a lame joke about the Marx brothers – neighbour Andy is too ignorant to have heard of Karl Marx, you see). They have moved to the North for cheaper rent. They argue constantly about their values – Emily sees marriage as an outmoded, patriarchal trap, Oliver is less militant. Familiar territory. Their neighbours Dawn and Alan provide further one-dimensional stereotypes. Alan likes football, drinks Carling straight out of the can, and is the butt of more lame humour via his lack of knowledge about art and his beer belly. Dawn and Oliver, within minutes of meeting, are flirting. We already know the couples are having problems with their sex lives. You can see exactly where this is headed. It’s like a bad episode of ‘The Good Life’. The second half has an excruciating scene where Oliver & Emily get drunk and there’s a contrived confrontation about infidelity and Alan’s missing cat. There really isn’t anything here that hasn’t been written before with much more style and originality. Attempts at shoehorning politics into the story consist merely of having Emily make a speech about Tony Blair. I didn’t believe in any of the four characters, they appear as mere ciphers for the writing and vehicles for old-fashioned, farcical gags and comic theatrical business.
Christopher Harper’s direction emphasises the broad comedy and avoids nuance. Every scene is an argument played at top speed. I liked Victoria Spearing‘s set design – Emily and Oliver are constantly tidying away toys or packing boxes, the design helps the room feel authentic and offers clues about the characters. The performances are all strong, particularly Kerry Bennett’s Dawn who brings some welcome dignity and realism to her underwritten role.
There is an interesting, complex conversation happening in contemporary British theatre about national identity. This is particularly relevant in June 2016. Torben Betts’ undemanding, laborious farce adds nothing to the conversation and leaves us without any questions or ideas to consider.
