Paul T Davies reviews Rabbit, a play by Nina Raine presented by Protocol at the Mercury Theatre Colchester ahead of its season at Theatre N16.
Rabbit
Mercury Theatre, Colchester
23 March 2018
4 Stars
Ahead of the National Theatre’s transfer of Nina Raine’s latest play, Consent, into the West End, Colchester based ProToCol Theatre revives her first play at the Mercury and Theatre N16. Bella is celebrating her 29th birthday, and has gathered friends and ex lovers, and as the night goes on and more bottles are drunk, arguments and truths are revealed. Bella’s Father is in hospital, dying of a brain tumour, and scenes with her father entwine with the drinking scenes. It’s a play of much verbal jousting, with brilliantly timed direction from Robbie Taylor Hunt and a top draw cast.
The women fight with wit and the men feel objectified and scrutinised, and Yasmin Jafri’s excellent Bella holds the play together, dealing with the transitional tones of the play, (from drunken defensiveness to poignant memories of her father), very well. She had a complicated relationship with her father, mainly due to his unfaithfulness to her mother, but Tim Freeman brings a beautiful regret to Father, the brain tumour allowing him to see things with more clarity than the younger, squabbling generation. Charlotte Luxford is a luminous Emily, the voice of reason trainee surgeon, and she is matched by Richard Conrad’s perfectly observed Tom, the male balance to her sweetness and ambition. Chris Anderson is powerfully vocal as Richard, a barrister who introduces himself as a writer, opinionated yet vulnerable and Zoe Biles savours every punch line she is given as drunk, loud Sandy, almost stealing the show! The cast work beautifully together and their timing is perfect.
Impressive as it is, Raine’s script still contains some first play problems. In places she is over eager to get her message across, the argument that begins act two sounds like a University dissertation, and undermines the beautiful observational atmosphere of the first half. The set and characters will be replicated in every bar in every high street tonight and every night, but not many people would argue like these five do. Some characters strike only one note, and needed much more depth, and, just as the night looks as if it’s going to implode the group massively, the big revelation is that Bella’s Dad is dying, which is only news to the other characters. And Father isn’t given enough to demonstrate his bullying, which is a shame as he is the symbol of a dying patriarchy.
In saying that, the scenes with Father are beautifully written and performed, and this is a brave choice of play from a company not afraid to tackle the risks head on. They teem with relent, rolling with the script confidentially, and this is an excellent evening’s entertainment.
Rabbit opens the new Theatre N16 space 25th-29th March, tickets here: https://www.theatren16.co.uk/
