REVIEW: Charlotte and Theodore on the Theatre Royal Bath

The title of Charlotte and Theodore, the brand new play by Ryan Craig which is having fun with its world premiere on the Ustinov Studio in Bath till 18th March earlier than a brief tour to Richmond and Cambridge, doesn’t do justice to the good writing and performances of this intelligent two-hander. The promotional blurb states, “cancel culture, gender politics, trans rights, online abuse and power struggles are all at play on a university campus” and suggests a moderately dry woke debate about fashionable society pushed by social media activism however as a substitute the ninety-minute romp is a humorous, witty and pacy exploration of a pair’s relationship over ten years which resonates with Generation X and older audiences. Despite operating straight by it by no means stops amusing and interesting and we may have fortunately sat by one other few scenes of their life collectively. 

It resonates so effectively as all of us battle a social media tradition that selects knowledge to suit a preselected conclusion, that confuses and amplifies rumours and hypothesis over information, that finds offensive phrases about protected attribute teams by ignoring the context and seeks to have fun and promote range by demanding uniformity and compliance. It calls into query the restrictions of free speech and challenges an idea of equality that drags everybody all the way down to the bottom degree moderately than searching for to boost everybody as much as a better degree. It is a contemporary Play for Today.

Kris Marshall is magnificent as Teddy, the white formidable older male college lecturer who seeks promotion to move of the school after years of service and whose set established methods and philosophical mental considering are challenged by the college Standards Committee and unseen scholar our bodies. His assured assurance is damaged down over the ten years by frustration and weariness. Eve Ponsonby is pleasant as Lotte, the youthful analysis assistant he hires and falls for and who turns the tables on him creating a robust debate on gender roles and household obligations. The two offstage characters of Chloe and Jack, their two youngsters, turn into catalysts to create pressure between the couple and there’s a brilliantly humorous scene after they talk about how their four-year-old son has peed in a carafe of wine at a school occasion. The seven scenes which soar backwards and forwards in time are very effectively acted between them with the pauses, seems and physique language clearly exhibiting the altering relationship and rising pressure over time however we additionally see their admiration, respect, love, frustration and anger with one another. It feels actual even when the phrases they communicate are sophisticated philosophical banter.

Simply set in a gray field with a frieze of books across the partitions and simply two chairs and the aforementioned desk, Director Terry Johnson ensures the tempo and proxemics mirror their relationship standing and cleverly animates the scenes modifications by the solid to keep up our engagement and curiosity within the half-light, a lot in order that often you miss the projected time setting on the rear wall. The chook calls charmingly assist set the out of doors areas and chime with Teddy’s allegorical ornithological ardour.

Back when Generation X had been born there was a superb play by Brain Clark known as “Whose life is it anyway?” which superbly articulated the for and in opposition to of Euthanasia in an entertaining and provocative play. The writing of Charlotte and Theodore jogged my memory of that have and prompts me to recommend this may be known as “Whose responsibility is it anyway?”. In a world of gender equality, who’s liable for citing the youngsters and for offering for the household? In a world the place the stresses and strains of each day life are characterised as psychological well being points, who’s liable for defending us from ourselves? In a world the place social media is part of each day life who’s liable for saying what’s true and what’s false? In a world the place lively minorities can create social media tendencies, Who is liable for making certain a requirements committee acts impartially and rationally beneath the load of media clamour to guard its personal repute?

Of course, as an previous white privileged male (like Teddy) I now really feel the frustration of the cancel tradition and marginalisation of custom in fashionable debate but in addition recognise how the tables have turned and gender equality has reversed previous roles however I ponder how the beneath the thirties will view this play. I hope that it provides to the talk on change in society searching for evolution, reconciliation, understanding and real equality of thought moderately than dangerous social media polarisation, marginalisation and cancellation which divides and creates new limitations to progressive change. I hope that lots of them will see this play and mirror on its message.