Two

“All human life is here”, in Sale Nomads studio theatre.

Two takes place in a northern pub - the audience shares an evening with the regulars and the landlord and landlady. This was a verbose, welcoming production of the 1989 Jim Cartwright two-hander. The studio theatre was turned into a cabaret style set up, with a bar against one wall and round tables with chairs dotted about the floor. A pleasing idea – the boundary between stage and auditorium blurred. The action, directed by David Black also played with this setting, having the actors walk amongst the crowd and interact. It’s a play that isn’t afraid to look us in the eye and tell it like it is and Black’s direction allowed the actors to do just that.

The play has aged well and the abrupt switches in tone lend itself well to today’s mentality. This rendition’s pace was spot on for this. One second, it was sharp, witty comedy, next it was almost urban poetry, bleak and heartrending, next it was silliness. It’s largely a series of artfully composed character studies and it was clear that both Laura Patterson and Roberto Lavorini had enjoyed moulding their characters around the material.

Both actors played with passion, enthusiasm and energy. It is a fantastic piece for any performer to showcase their acting talents. The two elderly characters’ scenes, though very different in sentiment, were both warm, tender and wryly comic in their exposure of human frailty. Lavorini’s Moth was particularly funny and engaging and Laura’s wife who likes big men was also nicely captured and had the audience delightfully amused. The domestic violence scene with Roy and Leslie was uncomfortable to watch in its realism. The denouement was delivered with sweet sincerity, perhaps a little more time spent on this part of the storyline may have had a greater impact but in the main the Landlord and Lady’s strained antics were played out well.

The standalone vignettes were nicely staged and this helped the audience to see the action, as relationships were dissected, the physical comedy elements and fabulous facial expressions and reactions of the two actors. The choice to mime everything, down to the coins the old lady hands over for her drinks, was appreciated and a lovely consistent touch.

This was a solid piece of theatre and the commitment from the actors and creative team shone through. There were plenty of laughs and big dollops of sentiment and that’s just as Two should be told. Well done!

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