Stockholm at the Hampstead Theatre

Stockholm at the Hampstead Theatre

21 July, 2008
by: Haggette

Reputedly dark-humoured playwright Bryony Lavery squeezes every drop of symbolic sap out of the title of her latest play, Stockholm at the Hampstead Theatre. It refers to Stockholm's Syndrome, the psychological response in which hostages become emotionally attached to their captors. The title also refers to Stockholm's meteorological bi-polarism, with the city's 24/7 sunlight in the summer and total darkness in the winter. Both allusions sum up the nature of a relationship between the outwardly perfect couple, Todd and Kali, aptly played by Georgina Lamb and Samuel James.

Todd is disaffected, Kali is controlling – they are both desperate and the result is an utterly dysfunctional intimacy. It's true sado-masochism and the two can't help but destroy each other and themselves. The play attempts to expose the subversive underbelly of a relationship held together by its tumultuous nature and does so with sporadic dance, odd interspersed third person narrative and even an elegantly simulated blow-job.

There are a few scenes that work a bit too hard to hammer out profound meaning. In one scene, the two perform an erotically charged dance complete with knives and forks. It's interesting but after a few minutes you think, OK, I get it, they're devouring each other, it's all very dark – can we move on now? However, the play redeems itself through a disturbingly accurate portrayal of sinister undercurrents evolving out of a loving relationship.

The scenes in which a seemingly third, evil presence takes over the characters in their moments of insecurity are undoubtedly the most captivating. Lamb's performance, in particular, was truly frightening in her shift from the upbeat wife to a shrieking mess. There is an especially frightening scene in which her head is plunged into a previously unnoticeable pool of water that literally made my heart skip a beat.

The play climaxes with a spectacularly violent row between the two, surrounded by a cleverly arranged set that puts the audience on edge with steel, sharp angles and an illuminated array of knives. Once they've both been reduced to weepy nervous wrecks, they cling to each other and climb onto a precariously hung bed (where I'm only slightly distracted by James's bulging Y-fronts). What they wonderfully capture is that helpless spiral before a fight and the magnetic appeal in the aftermath that keeps a couple going back for more. '...what is delightful is that at this moment we actually think it is going to be different from now on!'

The couple spend the entirety of the play dancing (literally at times) around their fears and doubts. They try so hard to be the loving couple they want to be and the only time they feel as if they are themselves is after they have beat each other down to the point of exhaustion, where they can forgive each other and admit their dependency. For those that have been in love or are sufficiently embittered from love, or even if you're single and you want to feel better about it, this is ultimately a candid, provoking piece on how love can really and truly, fuck you up.

Click here to see all London theatre.
Click here to see all London drama.
Click here for things to do in Hampstead.

Haggette