4.5 STARS
Two-hander plays are often merciless – there can be so little margin for error when the entirely play hinges on the performances of only two people. Happily, the performances in the Nottingham New Theatre’s production of An Intervention are absolutely spell-binding, and make for rapturous viewing.
The play centres on two women, known only as A and B, throughout the development and downfall of their friendship. They’re best friends, but they have radically different personalities – A is passionate to the point of aggression, especially when she’s had a few drinks, whereas B is more conservative and thoughtful. Whilst this makes for lively dialogue and makes them act as excellent foils to each other at the beginning, by the end of the piece their differences are getting more and more difficult to surmount. As war in the Middle East challenges their beliefs, and A’s growing alcoholism clashes with B’s increasingly adult outlook, this play encourages us to think about just how much friendship ties us to each other, even when that person changes for the better or worse.
The performances in this piece are stunning. It is undeniably a character piece, and the two actresses perform their roles with sublime conviction. They play off of each other perfectly, and the on-stage chemistry will convince you that they have been life-long friends. Ella Hiscocks faces a huge challenge playing a character who is mostly drunk in the five scenes we see her in, but she brings a brilliant tenderness and fragility to this strong-minded and loutish character that shines through, particularly in the later scenes. Libby Boyd is also fantastic as B, making a difficult character equally as sympathetic, crying real tears at the play’s climatic finale. Their wit is sharp, and the way that the characters gradually transform into more extreme versions of themselves is extremely well-acted.
The script, for all of its poetry and acidic wit, is short and sharp. It does, however, veer somewhat into turning its characters into mouthpieces and simplistic stereotypes – one whacky character, one straight-laced. It would be easy to misjudge a script such as this, and overplay it for comedic value, but thankfully director Beth Angella maintains the balance between naturalism, tragedy and comedy extremely well.
The set and production design is kept simple – with a sofa at one end of the stage and a bar set up at the other. The actors are skilfully able to utilise the traverse staging to make their performances more intimate, as the audience is kept close to the action. The scene changes, however, were quite distracting – each transition seemed long, with the audience left looking at a blank stage. Although the set and lighting design was minimal, this is not a play that lends itself to distracting, grand sets or elaborate lighting – the emphasis remains on the actors throughout.
This is definitely a production where the focus is on the acting, and the acting is undeniably brilliant. Whilst there are some scripting and some minor staging issues, particularly in the final scene, this is a powerful piece of student theatre that has a dramatic and harrowing conclusion.
Edited by: Jessica Greaney
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