The Woods - Southwark Playhouse

[Dave B]

[joem]

Sorry to say I found this a very underwhelming play. Shame because the production is good, with a staging which is easy on the eye and two actors who try to get to grips which what are, for the most part, rather uninteresting roles.

A young couple in a summerhouse in the woods, belonging to the guy's family, jabber on about this and that in what looks like a singularly ill-matched relationship. Hard to see what keeps them together, or if they are actually "together" anyway. Much reminiscing about the good old days (really? I can't remember doing a lot of that in my twenties) and the play really goes nowhere except for the final act where at last there is a dramatic crisis of sorts.

I had to read up on it to try and make sense. Apparently it's about male and female archetypes - I'd say stereotypes is closer to the mark. This particular "battle of the sexes" (thought that had gone out with Rock Hudson and Doris Day) really felt contrived, like a writing exercise; something which you can write interestingly about but which is not, of itself, interesting.

Regretfully a miss, for me.

[Mark]

Yes I’m inclined to agree with you. I was there on Saturday night and whilst the two actors gave their all, it just didn’t do it for me.

[Dave B]

Ha, another close pass joem, We were also there last night

It didn't really work, it's 80 minutes or so of two people utterly failing to communicate or to even connect. They are talking at or over each other all the time (the characters, not the staging!) and while it does bring the dramatic crisis towards the end, it's really just a physical manifestation of what's been going on for the hour beforehand.

Would disagree with both above re the cast, Francesca Carpanini was considerably stronger than Sam Frenchum who seemed to struggle from the start. I am assuming that the play and the direction were to call for coldness, aloofness but it was just too much. Almost blank from start to finish.

I would note both the fight and intimacy coordinators did a good job, towards the end I was moving glasses back from my feet just in case!

100% agree on the staging and I really liked the little touch of the floor being subtlety painted to show trees, it was only when the cast moved down to the open space and I was looking down at it that I realised.