Consent, 29/05/2018; a review.
TW: rape.
Last night I saw Nina Raine’s ‘blistering new play’ (New York Times), ‘Consent’. The play, directed by Roger Michell, has opened at the Harold Pinter Theatre after a sold out season at the National.
(Source: National Theatre 'Consent')
'Consent, Nina
Raine’s powerful, painful, funny play sifts the evidence from every
side and puts justice herself in the dock.'
(Source: National Theatre 'Consent')
Why is Justice blind? Is she impartial? Or is she blinkered? Friends take opposing briefs in a contentious legal case. The key witness is a woman whose life seems a world away from theirs. At home, their own lives begin to unravel as every version of the truth is challenged.
This ‘tense, entertaining modern-day tragi-comedy’ (Daily Telegraph) takes a searing look at the law whilst putting modern relationships into the dock.
The cast
of this production were exceptionally gifted in their
ability to throw words around playfully when chatting amongst
themselves, but then throw them at each other in
moments of anger. Each couple connected well and then the individuals
were strong when they stood alone. The audience seemed to
particularly love Jake, played by Adam
James, maybe because his character was the comic relief from the
beginning but he soon became a key player in the madness and mess of
lies that later surfaced.
Personally,
I was totally taken with the first character Heather
Craney played; the victim in the rape case, not being
listened to or properly told how the case would work, only meeting
her barrister (not her lawyer) minutes before going into the
courtroom. I immediately, sadly, knew she was unlikely to be taken seriously, let alone win the case.
This
play was extraordinary in that it could definitely not be
called 'cheerful', but somehow had the audience giggling throughout,
often at the most inappropriate times. I found the dark and often simple comedy completely fascinating. The subjects were
very unpleasant, of course - rape, affairs, marital struggles, even
domestic violence - but the writing was clever in that it managed to
lace each horrendous occurrence and difficult discussion between
actors with humour. And as an audience member, frequently finding myself switching from tense
silence into spluttering laughter was brilliantly unusual.
I
thought the staging of this production was excellent, and the minimal
sets were cleverly used while not being too 'busy', and never
distracting the audience from the actors. The juxtaposition in some
scenes was great, too - a few of the best and most intense
interactions took place in a child's (presumably Jake and Rachel's)
playroom, with the actors sitting on tiny plastic chairs or avoiding
toys on the floor as they strode around the space.
At the @HPinterTheatre for the opening night of @ConsentWestEnd! The Drama BA geek inside me is very excited right now - as is the freelance reviewer on the outside! 🎭❤️@FrmtheBoxoffice pic.twitter.com/3qZp7G8ayl— Grace Latter (@_gracelatter) May 29, 2018
An
interesting observation I made during the interval - queuing for the
loo, then passing through the bar and returning to my seat – was
everyone was
talking about the play. It seems obvious, but really all the
times I've
been to the theatre in the past few years, it's very rare
that the production is discussed so eagerly and at such length
between acts. This play clearly stirred up some feelings and opinions
in its viewers.
And then I found when I travelled home (weaving
through the West End stars gathering outside the theatre for photos
and press attention) I was receiving messages from friends asking how
the show was, all of them keen to get my opinion on whether or not it
was worth seeing. I told them all they needed to see it – but
to be prepared for some darkness.
Comments
Post a Comment