Not Close Enough

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Review

'Closer' by Patrick Marber

Dan writes obituaries, Alice strips; Anna is a photographer, and Larry, a dermatologist. In this play of fleeting staccato scenes, fast exchanges of dialogue and brutally honest language, Patrick Marber’s Closer launches an audience into the troubled lives of these four characters, all in the "body-business." They clamour over each other in a search for love, pursuing desire and struggling with their inability to be close to one another, even during their most physically intimate moments. This darkly funny piece of nineties theatre never allows an audience to settle into the story, leaping ahead months and even years at a time to the next character, the next couple, the next confrontation.

For the most part, Lara-Ann de Wet and Ed Sheridan’s production for Bedlam Theatre successfully portrays the painful comedy which oozes from Marber’s script whilst preserving the poignancy of certain tender scenes. What this piece lacks is the energy needed to sustain Marber’s frenzied depiction of the inevitable struggles and suffering associated with the pursuit of love. The cast, Nick Kay (Dan), Emma Knight (Alice), Hannah Mendoza (Anna) and Solomon Mousley (Larry) appear to have grasped the issues at the heart of each character but at times seem unwilling to give themselves over completely to the work. It is difficult to suspend disbelief long enough to fully believe in these four lovers. Accent clashes also, at times, undermine the emotional turmoil.

The set, while a little shabby, perfectly underscores the lack of intimacy being played out in front of it. An entirely blank canvas of white to which only minor props are added to differentiate locations serves to focus attention on the acting. The bare walls also enable projection to be used in a bizarre, comic internet chat scene between Dan and Larry, and to illustrate photographer Anna’s photographs of "strangers." The two men and two women, however, need to fill the stage completely in order to fully grip an audience. The white walls of this production unintentionally serve to highlight the gaps in the players’ performance, diminishing the overall effect of the piece. In spite of this, the crisp dialogues and fantastic one-liners are delivered with a zest which makes for an enjoyable and momentarily satisfying performance. As a lasting experience, however, it leaves something to be desired.

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