Two men sit in an empty room apparently waiting for
something. The play starts with general banter, the sort of manly musings that
you can hear in any pub after work. As time passes the banter adopts a more
serious edge. Harder topics are discussed, such as the inevitable demise of us
all, but none is pursued for long before the conversation twists in a new
direction.
The two characters are well developed and portrayed.
There is “Harry”, who at first seems more thoughtful and contemplative about
them being in the room, and there is “Steve”, a typical east-ender with a bold
stance and no-nonsense attitude. As time passes and the discussion focuses on
Harry’s weaknesses, he begins to fall apart aided by a furtive ingestion of
alcohol and drugs when Steve’s back is turned, whilst Steve reveals that he is
the true deep thinker and philosopher of the pair.
This piece has moments of violence, tenderness and humour
with believable and natural dialogue. Steve was played especially well and
consistently throughout. Harry’s physicalisation was extremely good when he was
acutely suffering the physical and emotional effects of the drugs although he
seemed to recover remarkably quickly. The empty space is used to good effect as well, taking on dimensions determined by the characters so we develop a sense of surroundings as we learn more about the two men and the world they inhabit. My only real criticism of this piece is
that sometimes the conversations were cut short too soon but this is tempered
by the fact that there was a lot packed into one hour.
We never discover what they are doing in the room, nor what
they are waiting for and we never get to hear the clue Harry repeatedly asks
for. However, as the piece progressed I lost interest in why they were there
and only wanted to know what they were going to say or do next.
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