4 STARS
At times laugh-out loud funny, at others incredibly sinister, Contractions is a thought-provoking and enthralling production courtesy of the Nottingham New Theatre. Fiercely satirical and boldly staged, this excellent script is buoyed by impeccably well pitched performances.
Contractions is the first show of this semester’s Fringe Season, and follows new employee Emma’s relationships with her co-workers through a series of one-on-one meetings with her Manager. When she enters into a relationship with another co-worker, it becomes quickly apparent that the Manager’s tough stance is a lot more sinister than it first seems. As the boundaries between her private life and work life become blurred, Emma is forced to confront exactly how much of herself she is willing to sacrifice in order to keep her job.
With a bold staging choice that has the desk-based conversations facing the audience rather than each other, the acting chops of the two actresses are under constant scrutiny by the audience. Thankfully, both performers were more than up for the challenge. Sophie Walton is endearing and relatable as Emma, the initially eager-to-please saleswoman, yet it is her eventual breakdown and descent into insanity that really showcase the best of her talent. Katie McGuire plays a very different role as The Manager – one-note, polite, with a call-centre-esque intonation that is as maddening as it is effective. Her character’s corporate persona is made all the more sinister by its recognisability; she perfectly embodies every entrenched corporate stooge who has unflinchingly refused to acknowledge the humanity of the people they’re dealing with. The fact that Walton and McGuire managed to play off of the other so well despite not even facing each other is a testament to their skill.
Director Andrew Houghton and producer Miguel Barrulas made clever use of lighting and staging to create a feel similar to Groundhog Day meets 1984 – maddening in its repetition, yet oppressive and ominous in its stiflingly corporate atmosphere. By repeating the same lighting at the end of each scene going into the next, complimented by the pitch perfect intonations of The Manager every time she “welcomes” Emma back into the room, the audience is left feeling as frustrated and unsettled as Emma herself. Although I felt that a few scenes were pitched too funny when the script was erring towards the darker elements, creating a few scenes that were slightly tonally unbalanced, these were very few and did not take away from the more dramatic moments.
In a world where those taking their first steps on the corporate ladder are expected to handle unpaid internships and zero-hour contracts, as well as at a time when a woman’s reproductive rights are still viewed by some as a site of contention in the office, Contractions raises timely questions about the role of corporate ownership and how much an employer can ask of its employees. Dark, satirical, and with strong performances, this is a strong start to the Nottingham New Theatre’s Fringe season.
Edited by: Jess Greaney
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