For a play which originated as a two-hander, it seems unsurprising the the strengths of Studiospace‘s production of ‘Two’, directed by Ashley Hodgson and Daniel Barnes, lay in its dialogue. Given the opportunity to bounce off one another, the actors thrived, particularly Romilly Browne and Sahel ‘Cherry, who blended comedy with pathos to create characters who were engaging, if not totally likeable.
The strength of these duets as they bounced around the enclosed stage therefore rendered the moments of monologue as something of a lull, as the actors left onstage to fend for themselves were asked by the script to delve into deep emotions which occasionally proved a little out of reach. That is not to say, however, that these performances did not play well to the audience. In individual engagement, cast members such as Jamie Dodd and Niall Potter had the audience — for the most part — in the palm of their hands, as they chatted and flirted, eliciting laughter both nervous and genuine.
Overall, the play seemed to cope best with the exposition of extremes: Niall Potter’s flirtatious lech ‘Moth’, making his way around the audience with winks and come-ons, provided what was arguably the comedy highlight of the show (though ‘Fat Fat Palomino’ was definitely a contender), as his ridiculous character oscillated wildly between confidence and deference in the face of Browne’s ‘Maudie’.
At the other end of the scale, Sahel ‘Cherry smacked the audience in the face with an emotional climax, if not with the extremity of feeling she was able to express, then with the sheer volume of her scream. While something seemed a little amiss in this climax, which is perhaps consequential of the distrubution of a two-hander amongst a cast of eight thereby denying the opportunity for cohesive evolution of character, it is demonstrative of the skills of ‘Cherry and Dodd that they nevertheless were able to wrest a convincingly heartbreaking end from the play.
Played out in a well-constructed stage space, and accompanied by excellent, nuanced light and sound tech which made space for quiet pathos and charged in with disco lights when required, ‘Two’ was a touching and funny insight into a working-class community, and Britain’s true collective home: the pub.
★★★