Review: Surviving Strangers, The Space

Review: Surviving Strangers, The Space

Imagine the covid lockdowns of latest years, however this time with the added instruction that you just can not go away your own home in any respect, not even for a stroll – oh and also you are actually trapped with the random individual you went residence with final night time.

Eve (Inyoung Lee) is South Korean, newly arrived in London. She meets Adam (Fred Arnot) when he helps carry her suitcase. They hit it off and Eve invitations him again to her residence for some ‘ramen’. The subsequent day they’re woken by sirens and a notification of a pandemic, informing everybody that the air is so poisonous they have to keep indoors. Days and weeks play out as they dwell by the tedium of lockdown and the claustrophobia of not having the ability to go exterior. Alongside the method of slowly attending to know one another.

Korean Janggu Drummer Jun Seok de Back accompanies the efficiency, his drumming utilized in mixture with mild adjustments and character resets to indicate adjustments of time and scene – sadly, issues will not be adequately synchronised, inflicting a disjointed look.

There is a lot to like concerning the honesty within the script. If you all of the sudden end up trapped in an residence with somebody who was in all probability a one-night stand, how are you going to kill the tedium… intercourse. A number of intercourse! This is amusingly acted out by Lee and Arnot, with a selected comedic spotlight as Arnot breaks the fourth wall to point to de Back to proceed with the drumming.

But elsewhere there are inconsistencies that hinder and stretch plausibility just a bit too far. The premise suggests they’re actually trapped in Eve’s residence, fully unable to depart, even for a stroll or train. Yet a takeaway supply is feasible.

Midway by we see a sudden shift in themes. Eve talks about feeling judged by her accent, that although she is like everybody else, along with her love of Amy Winehouse and Radiohead, the true her shouldn’t be seen. It’s highly effective, made extra so by the properly written phrases being projected onto the wall. The downside is that this comes out of nowhere. There is nothing previous to counsel these points, apart from some mild teasing as Adam has her train him a number of phrases in Korean. It’s attainable that the intent is to indicate that Eve isn’t okay. It is the midnight and he or she has reached a degree the place she will be able to admit it, even when solely to herself. It leaves us questioning if she is holding her emotions of insecurity hidden away from everybody; Adam, family and friends? Has the pandemic and the newly discovered relationship introduced her up to now? This holds potential, it’s fascinating, it’s one thing that would flip the play on its head. But it’s not what Surviving Strangers appeared to be going for.

The writing is sharp in locations and even when the play does drags, the characters stay likeable, helped by two high quality performances. But there are nearly two separate performs occurring right here. One is a brilliant and humorous comedy about being trapped in lockdown with a one-night stand, the opposite about feeling remoted and alienated as an immigrant, struggling to have individuals see you past your accent. Both provide a stable base for a play, however neither at the moment get the justice deserved. Surviving Strangers has potential, however till it decides which story it desires to inform it’ll fail to attain it.

Written by: Inyoung Lee
Directed by: Helen Iskander/ Henry Charnock

Surviving Strangers performs at The Space till 20 November. Further data and bookings will be discovered right here.