Hello/Goodbye

Let me first of all mention the play itself, written by Peter Souter.  This is the unlikeliest of plots and this fact immediately made me feel a bit uncomfortable because I thought it was therefore going to be a bit far-fetched.  But as the action progressed, I felt I was totally absorbed in the scenario placed before me.  The play is virtually two actors vying for a flat which they both think they’ve bought.  For well over two hours, they banter, challenge, argue, insult and adore each other.  And boy do they need to keep on their toes!  The dialogue is fearsome at times and demands a great deal from these two – Ian Willingham as Alex and Vikki Pead as Juliet.  The former is a rather handsome geek, totally committed to collecting all sorts of things that nobody is ever likely to want – except we find out differently towards the end – and is the fount of all unnecessary knowledge.  Juliet, on the other hand, is more of a woman of the world and has a fairly strong feminist streak in her.  Their characters were so beautifully drawn in their performances and was maintained throughout the piece.  The timing of their interactions was superb – the director having obviously spent some time on getting this just right.  These two leads deserve full marks for both the learning and the delivery. 

Whilst the two additional characters were really quite incidental to the plot, I was disappointed that Leo (Paul Bonnici) was not presented as the tough guy suggested by Juliet – he was rather too likeable but Amanda (Rebecca Segeth) carried that all-important air of mystery until the final twist in the play was revealed very close to the end.  The set was functional and appropriate and the props (presumably as explicitly described in the script) were exquisite.  Lighting simple but effective and wardrobe provided what was required.  On reaching the end of this play, I appreciated just how appropriate the title was!   

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