Review: Hard Feelings at the Finborough Theatre

Hard Feelings 

Finborough Theatre

Reviewed on Thursday 13th June 2013

It is fascinating to see how moments of a play which was first staged at the Oxford Playhouse in 1982 can be just as relevant today. Hard Feelings is a high quality, compelling piece of theatre performed by a very young cast.

The action takes place in the front room of a small property in Brixton, during April 1981. Doug Lucie's play follows a group of Oxford University graduates who barely notice what's happening on the streets outside as police and rioters clash, shops are looted and buildings set on fire (remind you of anything?). Instead they are in their own little world, trying to pay the bills and pushing their friendships to the limit.

Hard Feelings takes a while to get going. To begin with Doug Lucie's writing is frustrating because far too long is taken to establish the characters and story. I think sometimes audiences can be underestimated and don't always need to be spoon-fed so much information about a character. Although the first half became fairly intriguing, by the interval the piece still seemed to lack a sense of direction and I was unsure where it was going. However, the second half becomes gritty and a little darker. To begin with the characters all seem a little shallow but, as Hard Feelings progresses, endless layers are explored and each character is exposed to be fairly complex.

A stand out performance comes from Isabella Laughland as Viv who is an extremely complex, manipulative character. Isabella's performance is utterly captivating, the intensity of her stare is a little terrifying. To begin with Jesse Fox seemed to be slightly playing up to the audience as flamboyant Rusty but his performance improved. Jesse provides a great deal of light relief which is what makes the play so strong. Although a serious play with many political messages, the comedic moments ensure that Hard Feelings remains engaging for the duration of the performance. Some of the one-liners are hilarious!

A few of the cast had 'wooden moments' and a couple of performances lacked detail. When performing in a large West End theatre actors can get away with far more, but when performing in a small intimate theatre, such as the Finborough where the audience are at arms length, there is nowhere to hide. Physically and vocally the cast were spot on but I wanted to see every single emotion in their eyes.

Despite the set staying the same, James Hillier's direction, along with Will Evans' lighting design make the play visually interesting to watch. There are very few static moments which keeps the pace going strong. The Finborough Theatre has been completely transformed and was almost unrecognisable, I loved Stephanie Williams' detailed set design which brings Viv's flat to life.

I would highly recommend this production of Hard Feelings. It is fascinating to watch the characters develop and see how friendships grow and break. It is also fascinating to see what 1981 was like through the eyes of these young, almost naive characters. I think the term 'thought provoking' is sometimes a little overused but this show most certainly made me sit back and think.

Reviewed by Andrew Tomlins
andrew@westendframe.com

Hard Feelings runs at the Finborough Theatre until 6th July 2013.
Please visit www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk for further information and to book tickets.

Photo Credit: Simon Annand

Follow @West_End_Frame