Gareth's Culture and Travel Blog

Yet another occasion where reading reviews is bad for your health. I almost didn’t go to see this on Monday, snow and travel disruption adding to the critical mauling, but I’m glad I did. April De Angelis’ new play has its flaws, but it’s very much a play for our times.

She’s putting up a mirror to our new world, where everything is black and white, no shades of grey, and you’re either for or against everything. Class wars, Brexit v Remain, gentrification or preservation, woke and anti-woke. We either sympathise with immigrants and the homeless or we see them as parasites, to be sent home or left to rot.

The setting is Walthamstow Village, where working class Essex girl Kerry is trying to fulfil her dream and ambition of owning a Spanish tapas restaurant. Her chef Athena is struggling to get Leave to Remain even though she’s been her since she was 5; a hold Kerry has over the person who is clearly key to her chance of success. Outside homeless Will is putting off the customers. She seeks to recruit local worthy Stephen to deal with this, and at the same time publicise her venture in his news sheet for the gentrified. Stephen is recently widowed and he and his gap year daughter Alice are struggling to move on. An unlikely relationship develops between Kerry and Stephen, as ex-copper Warren, a very old and very vague acquaintance of Kerry, turns up with only one thing on his mind.

The problem is that De Angelis throws in the kitchen sink and allows her characters to become caricatures and stereotypes spouting cliches, and the humour sometimes crosses the line to gross, even for someone as broad-minded as me (well, I suppose I would say that!). This waters down a potentially strong argument that our divisive world, fuelled by social media and fake news, is exceedingly unhealthy, sacrificing intelligent debate and free speech at the alter of point-scoring.

The cast work hard to develop these characters and get every laugh they can, though I thought Fay Ripley was dangerously close to over-acting on occasion. The most successful characterisations were Madeline Appiah as Athena, Michael Fox as Will and Gavin Spokes as Warren. I would have expected its flaws to have been ironed out before it got on one of the National’s stages, particularly by a director of the quality of Indhu Rubasingham. Still, I don’t regret going and making my own mind up, which is more 3* than 1* or 2*. Decide for yourself.