Review: Conversations We Never Had, As People We’ll Never Be, Cockpit Theatre

This brisk and dynamic work presents its audience with an interesting dilemma from the outset: if you could take a pill to delete memories of your recent ex, would you?  More controversially, would they? It makes for an original starting point that gives us a fresh take on a universal theme, that being the emotional turmoil of a break-up. 

In this case, the break-up in question is between Gina (played by the writer Lucy Harris) and her girlfriend, Frankie (Siobhán Cassidy). It starts with great promise as Gina opens by telling us there are two kinds of people in the world: ‘confronters’ who question everything openly and move on, and ‘shower fighters’ who re-live difficult moments every morning while showering, developing endless better variations of themselves in challenging situations. It’s clear from the outset which category each character falls into. We are then thrown into the opening scene, seeing the pair’s first encounter and subsequently their meeting to collect belongings after their split. So we quickly have some structure on which we will get acquainted with these characters.

In a play that is a mere 50 minutes long, this compact two-hander is efficient and effective. It really is wonderful to have queer female relationships not only represented but explored and celebrated with such honesty. There are no stereotypes here, just life itself.

At a technical level, this play has much to commend it. The script is extremely funny; “You look like someone who carries pens” is now safely stored in my comeback bank, relatable and sensitive, and it’s brought to life by two superb actors who really know their craft. Performing in the round with almost no props can be a huge challenge as you constantly need to be moving around the space to avoid turning your back on the audience. These two take this difficulty in their stride, thanks undoubtedly to some expert direction from India Dillon. The movement through different modes of being in the play is seamless, as is the believable chemistry between the protagonists: nothing feels forced here. 

Despite the flawlessly funny script, there are some oversights which prevent this work from being a more engaging and moving experience. My principal concern is that the humour takes precedence over the emotional weight of the subject matter. Additionally, the premise of the pill is imaginative, but the explanation is rushed and the implications muddled. While it sets up a temporal impetus to create dramatic urgency, I couldn’t help but wonder if a moving exploration of feelings after a break-up couldn’t have been more relatable with a simpler device, one that might have allowed more light to be shone on emotional states.

The conceit breaks open a wealth of possibilities to explore, but it means that the closing decisions are swept away too brusquely and I was left trying to absorb the emotional impact long after I’d ordered my Pinot Grigio. This important pay-off warranted greater space for its message to truly land a killer punch with sufficient weight.  This problem is more structural than dramatic, as Harris’s writing is excitingly engaging and heartfelt. Given a broader canvas, she has the firepower to create something that will leave her audience truly winded. 

Written by: Lucy Harris
Directed by: India Dillon
Produced by: Orange Moon Theatre Co

Conversations We Never Had, As People We’ll Never Be plays at Cockpit Theatre until Thursday 27 February.