Expect the best uppers and the worst downers in Nick Grosso's comedy at Royal Court Theatre.
Being handed a sheet of statistics on addition in the UK with the programme suggests this is going to be a 'worthy' play: overly earnest with an aim to inspire, the kind of thing you expect from a puffed up, self-indulgent playwright. Thankfully Nick Grosso is none of those things. Ingredient X might be ponderous on some level (and here the stats sheet does help) but thankfully it's a stream of amusing, tipsy banter shuttling along at full pace from the mouths of brilliantly ballsy women.
The rants and raillery dwell on addiction, men and family, but don't be fooled into thinking this is a girls' play. Though the X Factor features frequently, its relevance is minimal. The play begins with Rosanna and Deanne, who, after knocking back a few drinks, invite themselves into the slick pad of recovering addict Frank and his co-dependant wife Katie. Director Deborah Bruce and designer Ben Stones have kept things simple but plush, though Grosso's ear for language means Ingredient X could be played on bare boards and have the same effect.
The star of this production is undoubtedly the hilarious Lesley Sharp (Ghosts, Little Voice). It's not just that Sharp has most of the good lines, but her delivery is also a brilliant example of how good casting and a great actor can elevate the text. She portrays Rosanna as your favourite drunk aunt. Far from boring, Rosanna is scarred by men and pissed enough to say hilariously inappropriate things and get away with it. Lisa Palfrey as the adorably dense Deanne is also definitely worth seeing for her comic timing alone.
The two have imposed themselves on the sweet, forgiving friend and mother that is Katie. Off the booze due to breast-feeding, Katie sees everyone as a victim. She's co-dependent you see; that's her disease. But Indira Varma is wasted in this role. Katie's repetitive monologues are too long and uninteresting. It's as though Grosso's attempting to balance out Rosanna's loose-canon presence by knocking up things for Katie to say. Turns out what she says is pretty dull and not succinct enough.
Having hurtled itself along for most of the performance the play lags towards the end. The changes of tone are there but the last 30 minutes seem sloppily injected with drama. A series of phone calls and texts to the characters from bitchy women, police officers and friends with bad news reveals more things to be worried about, and more cause for ranting. It's not an entirely dire way of peeling back the layers, but having all these triggers occur so closely together is poor structure and unrealistic. Ending the play by forcing an audience to watch Frank clean up the flat would be inexcusable if it weren't another subtle point about obsessiveness and the nature of addiction. Kudos to Grosso for returning on mostly fine form with some great characters in tow.
Ingredient X runs at Royal Court Theatre until 19th June
Photo Credit: Keith Pattinson
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