Firstly, Sonia Friedman is to be congratulated for her RE:EMERGE season, a re-opening initiative with three new plays by West End debutantes, of which this is the third. Re-opening was brave enough, this doubly so.
This two-hander tells the story of a con artist and her gullible mark. Anna is a glamorous young and seemingly wealthy Russian who purports to be some sort of art philanthropist. Ariel is a relatively wealthy young American geek who has set up a dating app for the beautiful and well-to-do and now comes under her spell. Their story and relationship unravel in short punchy scenes, slickly delivered in front of a shape-shifting video wall which moves us from place to place. It’s an impressive piece of stagecraft.
Emma Corrin (fresh from her turn as Diana in The Crown) and Nabhaan Rizwan (fresh from his in BBC’s The Informer and Industry) are making their West End debuts, possibly their stage debuts (?) and both impress, playing multiple roles as well as the leads, with great chemistry between them. They do their best with the material, but that’s where the evening falls short. The play lacks depth; the characters aren’t fully developed and the story lacks substance, particularly the motivation which underlies both characters actions.
Still, it’s a thrilling 75 minute theatrical ride as Joseph Charlton’s play gets a dazzling production from Daniel Raggett, in no small part due to the extraordinary work of the design team of Mikaela Liakata, Tal Yarden, Jessica Hung Han and Mike Winship.
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