The Beloved
Drayton Arms Theatre
Reviewed on Tuesday 22nd April 2014
It was a promising start for The Beloved at the Drayton
Arms Theatre, Gloucester Road: an inebriated Anna wanders around the stage,
constantly drinking from the ever ready, omnipresent alcohol available in
Dacter Pinch's ingenious design. Her constant refrain: "Any minute now
he'll get out of bed, put on his clothes and walk through the door." She
is talking about her husband Jeremy, currently in a coma after a near-fatal
drink driving incident.
The play explores Anna's state of mind in the wake of this trauma and, through
a miasma of booze and regret; we are introduced to two additional characters -
the boy (played by the likeable Michael Lyle) who caused the crash and Jeremy's
old friend, David (Greg Patmore).
The performances here are good, with Kate Blackshaw deftly switching between
self-loathing, vulnerability and hopelessness as Anna and Patmore's David
exuding kindness and compassion. Niall Phillips has done a good job honing
these truthful performances and in giving the whole production a convincing
fluidity but Chantelle Dusette's writing is in danger of being as meandering
and impotent as the alcoholic it describes.
For although the piece is thought-provoking and interesting,
I fail to see anything new here. This is a story we've seen before being told
in a pretty conventional way. The writer has promise and a skill for affecting,
natural dialogue but a compelling and universal idea is somewhat absent, in
this play at least.
Reviewed by Jody Tranter
Reviewed by Jody Tranter
Please visit www.thedraytonarmstheatre.co.uk for further information.
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