The Americans talk about class in Blue Surge, reviewed by Naima Khan.
The Americans, it turns out, handle class much better than we do. Or rather they are much more frank about it than we are. They use the word 'class' for a start. The subject crops up in Blue Surge when a policeman, Curt, tries to explain to his artist girlfriend Beth why he finds it easier to talk to a teenage prostitute than her. Beth is happy to chat about Curt's ambition to become a lieutenant but when he wants to dwell on his difficult childhood, or dream impossible dreams, he thinks she'll find it “gross” and she admits she does. Their conversation is what relationships are made of: a battle to articulate your innermost thoughts to someone else. So while it is perhaps realistic, it's a shame to find Beth so one-dimensional as she struggles to understand why Curt wants to talk about a childhood he'd surely rather forget. However, the other supporting characters in Rebecca Gilman's play are put to good use.
We meet Heather and Doug at the same time. She's asking him what he wants, and he's asking her what's on offer. Somehow they go from a prostitute and the cop that arrests her to boyfriend and girlfriend. But thanks to the way Gilman presents her characters – on the fringes of society, not quite dreaming the American Dream – it's completely plausible. She never falls into the trap of over-using them for comic relief but employs them as extensions of the lives of her main characters, Curt and Sandy.
At times, I feel like I could listen to the two of them talk for hours. Both certain of their positions in their inescapable rut, they talk about their crude, unethical parents, horrible but fascinating tales from their childhood and what the future probably won't hold. Depressing as they are, and fixated on the lack of meritocracy, they're nonetheless seriously entertaining. Their relationship is alluring because even though they're frightened of what their self-awareness might mean, they power through with an honesty about their perceived limited choices. When their stagnant lives hit rock bottom, and they start to pull themselves together, it's a relief to see them quietly content.
Che Walker's production makes great use of the small space at Finborough Theatre and he gets excellent performances out of his cast. James Hillier (Curt) is a stunning example of what it means to know one's character. Throughout the course of the play, Curt throws out nuggets about his childhood, and when he does, they make complete sense coming from Hillier thanks to the way he embodies the adult Curt. Similarly, I'd be worried about what Clare Latham (Sandy) sounds like when she's out of character because she makes it so difficult to imagine.
Blue Surge runs at the Finborough Theatre until 27 August.
Image by Nobby Clark
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