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Picture
REVIEW
​Closer - the Play
by Patrick Marber
Dixon Studio at The Palace Theatre, Westcliff on Sea
27th-29th of September
Set in London at the end of the twentieth century, four strangers’ lives are about to become to intricately and explicitly interwoven through the fateful collisions that bring them together.

Fragile but feisty Alice gets knocked down by the taxi that Dan, an obituary writer and would be novelist, is riding in and he ends up taking her to hospital.  There’s an attraction between the two and they become lovers.  Larry is the doctor who tends to Alice’s knee.  We skip to months later and photographer, Anna, is taking shots of Dan for the book he has written about Alice’s life.  Dan falls for Anna.  As a joke, Dan pretends to be Anna on an online sex chat room and sets up a meeting between what turns out to be Larry and Anna.  Alice meets Larry at Anna’s photographic exhibition and, well, I’m sure you can figure out for yourself what happens next.

This is a deep and detailed play where the actors’ words are everything.  There’s a reason why this play only requires the minimalist of sets and that is because every ounce of the audience’s focus and attention is concentrated on the dialogue of each of the characters.

This is the first play to be produced from the collaboration that are actors, Natasha Stone, Harry Ryan, Sophie-Rose Darby and Francesco Manfredi and director, Marc Mollica.  They have utilised the performing space of the Dixon Studio by having raised seating on both sides of a rectangular stage leaving the audience to take an almost voyeuristic view of the action from what essentially is a third and fourth wall.

Alice is played by Sophie-Rose Darby as somewhat of an enigma, never giving too much information of herself away but equally having the capability of giving huge amounts of love.  Dan, all floppy hair and tight jeans, is played confidently by Harry Ryan; likewise Francesco Manfredi who plays the more vulnerable and endearing dermatologist, Larry.  Both of their characters’ needs to compete for the women they desire is almost as laughable as it is tragic.

Natasha Stone is one of those actors who can subliminally command attention on stage and she plays Anna in a beautifully understated way. She also gets the great line,  "You look like the cat that got the cream. Stop licking yourself."

With a set simply consisting of chairs, two lamps, a table and chairs and a bed, the actors cleverly choreograph each scene change to the background sound of a thumping soundtrack.

Marc Mollica has done a great job in driving the play forward at a good pace and there were a couple of scenes set in the same place but at different time frames, which were expertly directed and cleverly played out.

Love, lust and sexual gratification dominate this play and there are no holds barred, whether it be by the language spoken or the action taking place on stage. At one point Dan shouts at Anna, “What does he taste like?” To which she retorts, “Like you but sweeter.”  It’s certainly not for the faint hearted or emotionally squeamish with the cast showing committed performances, which will just get better and better as the run goes on.

Is there a message this play will leave us with?  Is love enough? Do women want love and commitment, and men just sex?  Larry replies to to Anna after she asks why sex is so important to him, "Because I'm a f***ing caveman." 

A
t one point Anna complains to Alice, “They love the way we make them feel, but not us.”

​
It’s certainly a topic for discussion.

The play runs nightly until Saturday 29th September
Tickets www.southendtheatres.org.uk  Box Office 01702 351135
Instagram: @closertheplay
Twitter: @closertheplay1
Facebook: www.facebook.com/closertheplay2018
​
www.closertheplay.co.uk
Tickets available from www.southendtheatres.org.uk or call the box office on 01702 351135

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