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Emily Bowker as Emily, Graeme Brookes as Alan Kerry Bennett as Dawn and Alastair Whatley as Oliver. Invincible
Malvern Theatres
**** TORBEN Betts is the name of a playwright
we are becoming increasingly used to hearing. He describes his work as
‘entertaining tragedy’ and last night’s production of ‘Invincible’ fits
that description well. Invincible
is entertaining, hilarious at times, very
dramatic and ultimately invites the pity and fear that ‘Aristotle’
associates with tragedy. Oliver and Emily, a somewhat typical London
couple, unmarried but raising two young children, decide that life in
the capital is too expensive, so they relocate to the north where
properties are cheaper. They also want to live among ‘real people’. They
invite the neighbours, Alan and Dawn, in for drinks one evening to
develop relationships in the area, but the resulting clash of cultures
is far from happy. The tensions and conflict of values result in
deep frustrations and griefs surfacing, that reveal the lostness and
existential ‘angst’ of each individual. It also exposes the tensions
within each couple. These characters are ultimately in great pain under
the surface but cope with life in various ways, but those ways are
ultimately not satisfying. Torsten Betts has a brilliant capacity for
writing lively and entertaining dialogue. He has also created some very
believable, if slightly stereotypical, characters whose c Emily, whose lost child has created a deep
emotional wound, is very political and anti-capitalist. Her partner,
Oliver, is public-school, ‘posh’, a civil servant who generally tries to
be very reasonable and well-mannered. Alan is the postman who was a chef in the Royal
Navy, he is fanatical about football and the English team, he loves his
booze and is brash, blunt, aggressive and patriotic. Dawn, his wife,
suffers for lack of meaningful companionship with her husband, she is
slightly raunchy and looking for love, attention and comfort in the
absence of her oldest child, a son in a war zone abroad.
The writer touches on many contemporary and
relevant themes, political, social and environmental. Binge-drinking,
capitalism, house prices, modern art, key political leaders like Blair
and Thatcher - there are abundant themes touched upon lightly.
They provide scope for caricature, humour and some satire without
becoming seriously political in its import. Graeme Brooke's plays the role of Alan, the brash
and garrulous football boozer. The character allows him to hold the
stage and dominate the action frequently. He delivers this with
tremendous energy and conviction. Alastair Whatley is the more reserved and
sensitive partner to Emily; for much of the play he tries to pacify her
and accommodate the forceful feelings she has regarding her children,
society and political leaders but driven by her underlying grief and
frustrations. Towards the end he becomes more assertive and decided,
something she confesses to find quite appealing! The two women are delightfully contrasted and
both Kerry Bennett and Emily Bowker give strong performances. Both have
deep inner anxieties regarding children lost or endangered; both express
the superficial traits of their characters convincingly but reveal the
inner anguish effectively at the appropriate moments in the story. The success of this show relies on the excellent
balance of humour and emotion. I was reminded at times of
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf with its aggressive exchanges and
partner interactions. It reflects the influence of Alan Ayckbourn, the
show is supported by apt use of costume and musical selections that
reflect effectively the characters in particular of Oliver and Emily. This is cleverly written, it is directed, acted
and produced with excellence. It deserves to play to fuller houses. To
18-06-16 Tim Crow 14-06-16
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ontrasts
provide plenty of laughs.