Review: Spontaneous Meets are not for the Weak, The Hope Theatre

Spontaneous Meets are not for the Weak is a title that catches the attention. It certainly worked for me, having found myself with a free evening and looking at what last minute reviews were available, this one stood out. It’s a title that tries to neatly sums the play up as well, it’s two characters portraying the two halves; one spontaneous, one not quite so, although weak seems the wrong word. 

A (played by writer Philip Ofe) is the weak half of the equation; repressed by a religious upbringing and overbearing mother, he is anxious and always apologising. Finding himself along and bored in a hotel room, he is swiping right on a dating app when he comes across B (Emma Bostock), a person who is rather blunter and more direct. Yes, the spontaneous part of the title, proven by the fact that after just a few messages, she suggests joining A in his hotel room. And thus begins an evening where their polarity leads to discovering more about themselves than you’d expect on a one-night stand. 

There is plenty of mileage in that premise, the problem is that the writing is too clunky. Scenes crawl along without much injection of energy, long pauses to signify awkwardness feel just that, awkward, but not in a dramatic theatrical way, they are just awkward. It genuinely seems on occasion that they are trying to remember the next line. But clunkiest of all is an early scene where A struggles to turn the lights on, leading to a bizarre moment of audience interaction that is just painful and completely unnecessary. It is too drawn out, little relevance to anything, as if they are simply trying to fill the hour.

It’s this clunkiness that means the play struggles to flow smoothly. Come the drawn out ending it’s not totally clear if this is a story of discovering yourself and self-love or a comment on online dating and the swipe right culture. Whatever Ofe is aiming for is sadly lost.

Bostock does though deliver a wonderfully complex B. Her sudden changes between sex talk and her inner sadness are well handled, believable that here is a woman seeking a quick bunk up to bury the issues in her life. She brings much-needed energy but unfortunately this is restricted by the writing. Her character is both flawed in herself, and flawed in how she has been written, inconsistencies present that are hard to explain away. Ofe though struggles with a character he has written so should know inside out. That issue over how to portray his anxiety without it affecting flow is never overcome. 

There are further issues with the presentation. The lighting especially fails to offer any support. Being in a hotel room for most of the hour doesn’t require constant light changes, and yet when the opportunities do arise for something different, they are rarely taken. Why not introduce lighting changes for bathroom scenes or a spotlight to focus our attention fully as they move from chairs to bed. Options are available to give it some variety. 

But ultimately it all comes back to the clunkiness (yes that word has been used a lot because that is the issue). It leaves little to work with to bring the story alive, instead resulting in a feeling something was meant to be said that just never got heard. The title is intriguing, but the execution currently is just not. 

Written by Philip Ofe
Directed by Cassia Thakkar
Produced by Sarah Saxby

Spontaneous Meets are not for the Weak has completed its run at The Hope Theatre