Rachel (Natalie Lessing) Neal (Joseph Wilkins) and Richie (Dan Coffey) share an awkward drink.
You wake up. Brush your teeth, take a shower and eat a
small breakfast providing you have the time, and then walk out into the bitter
cold. You cram in to a sweaty tube, and spend the next 10 hours in a place
you’d rather not be, doing things you’d rather not do. At the end of your day
you return home. Look at your mail, brush your teeth, and collapse in bed next
to your partner, already asleep, hoping that you won’t have to do this again
tomorrow.
A scenario known by anyone who has held a job, this is the life of Neal and Rachel, two of the three characters populating Joe Penhall’s ‘Love and Understanding’, currently on revival at The Courtyard Theatre. Neal and Rachel are overworked doctors in a quickly failing relationship, badly in need of a change. Communicating via post-it notes, there is not a semblance of passion left between them, and their relationship seems to resemble a calculated decision such as a mortgage more than it does a loving sexual coupling. Into this equation comes Richie, a childhood friend of Neal and drunkard hack of a writer, who seems to represent all that Rachel secretly desires, and Neal despises.
What follows is a highly relatable, if somewhat predictable tale of twenty-something malaise, where characters express feelings of regret, confusion and loneliness, with a focus on career and interpersonal relationships. The writing is sharp, and definitely the play’s strongest asset. Dialogue is witty and natural, and at many points feels like banter that the audience may have had with past friends or lovers. Interesting ideas are put forth about the life/work balance, with the set cleverly, and practically, acting as both home and office, and aspects of addiction are touched on with each particular character having their vice of choice.
The acting is good all around, though at times the quick-fire delivery of lines hurt the naturalistic impact of the dialogue. The intense moments are capably handled, and lots of subtle exchanges, particularly those involving Rachel, work very well. Scenes are given extra depth through the use of ambient sound effects, and for the most part, the set does well to represent the various locales of the story. The score on the other hand is overly melodramatic, and though used sparingly, it hurts the impact of a few scenes that would be better set to silence.
Even considering their respective flaws, the characters are made likable by the cast. Anxiety-ridden Neal is sympathetic, as is Rachel, whose flighty behaviour leads to outright deception by the play’s end. Richie, as the catalyst of it all, comes across as both endearing and aggravating, and seems as much the saviour of Neal and Rachel’s relationship as he does the destroyer.
Though Richie, with his reckless approach to life, is a stark contrast to the regimented Neal, and the calculated dreamer Rachel, their lives seem destined to share a similar path. In the midst of the play, Richie is seen awaking from a drug-induced stupor, wondering where he is, and who those around him have become. By the play’s conclusion it becomes clear that this is a suitable metaphor not only for his life, but for Neal and Rachel’s as well.
Love and Understanding runs until Sunday May 17th 2009.
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