4 STARS
The New Theatre’s production of Closer is a hot-blooded and drama-filled masterclass in student theatre. Telling the story of four complex and flawed individuals as they fall in and out of love with each other, Closer is a play full of emotional exploitation, selfish love and sexual desire, which is brought to life with striking honesty.
The greatest strength of this production is the quality of the acting. Louis Djalili is the perfect embodiment of his character – at times intensely dislikeable for his selfishness, but at others highly sympathetic. Likewise, Watt managed to imbue his charming and somewhat doting character of Larry with a disarming malice in the more dramatic moments of the script. The culmination of Act One – in which both men are fighting with their respective partners – was made utterly captivating by the strength of their performances.
The female characters were particularly strong. Alice is a series of contradictions – fragile yet sexually empowered, needy yet fiercely independent. Jess Lundholm captured this in her performance, playing the role with an exquisite tenderness even when at her most fiery. Libby Boyd also shone as Anna. The whole play hinges around the idea of ‘truth’, and Boyd’s performance resonates with an honesty that really brought this message to life, particularly in the passionate Act One finale.
Director Max Miller and producer Charlotte Sanders should also be commended for their strong production design – the costumes and lighting complimented each scene excellently. The stage was kept deliberately bare, with projection on the back wall to establish setting and convey time passing. These were used to strong effect – particularly when conveying a hilarious chat room sequence with Watt and Djalili. The play frequently jumped in time, and whilst the projections conveyed time passing it did so abstractly, so it always took a moment to figure out exactly when the action was taking place and who was with who.
I did find the script at moments slightly long-winded; whilst the dialogue was sharp, it did seem that some scenes were unnecessarily long. It was also somewhat clunky with the time jumps, reasserting the time and relationships in a slightly ham-fisted way. However, it is a testament to the skill of the actors and the strength of the production that they were able to keep the play constantly engaging despite some of the script’s weaknesses.
This is a show that reminds its audience not to be selfish – to take care of other people, because you cannot be sure what the consequences will be. Through the complex and flawed characters here, beautifully realised by the actors and the team behind them, this play is a welcome reminder of the fragility of the people around us and the consequences of your actions on another person’s life.
Book tickets: http://newtheatre.org.uk/whats-on/
Edited by: Jess Greaney
Sources:
https://www.facebook.com/thenottinghamnewtheatre/photos/pcb.101546682448…
https://www.facebook.com/thenottinghamnewtheatre/photos/pcb.101546682448…