A play about honesty, trust, and vulnerability that has plenty of potential, but is lacking in action or jeopardy and needs to be braver when delving into its characters’ flaws.Rating
OK!
This was my second visit to the Drayton Arms Theatre, a venue with a long history of supporting the performing arts. On this occasion, I was visiting the fifty-seater space for Shaw Production’s new play, Where Would You Like To Start?.
The show opens with Frances (Eleanor Cross) and her boyfriend Jonah (James Walsh) arriving at a restaurant to meet their friends Sadie (Mia Haynes-French) and Rich (Wesley Ruthven). The conversation is awkward as the four discuss their careers. There is an underlying tension, but it is unclear why. This is the first of many scenes in which there is plenty of dialogue and anxiety, but little jeopardy or action.
The scenes are short, with set changes after each one, involving tables and chairs being moved into different positions, and plants being moved on and off stage. At one point, Jonah returns from work and undresses on stage, only to get dressed again, and it’s difficult to understand the significance of this.
The acting is strong, and Ruthven’s funny one-liners provide some light relief. Rich is the polar opposite of Jonah, and when the two are together, their intentionally awkward conversations are well acted. However, they do little to move the story forward, adding to the running theme of the general lack of action throughout.
One of the key threads throughout the play is that both Frances and Jonah are having online therapy. Jonah’s issues seem to centre on his colleagues and his relationship with Frances, and Frances appears intent on finding problems in her relationships with Jonah, her best friend Sadie, and her sister, who lives in Ireland. Unfortunately, the therapist’s dialogue is clichéd and predictable, and it is not entirely clear exactly what Jonah and Frances are struggling with. That being said, the device of having the therapist face away from the audience works well.
Where Would You Like to Start? is an effective title. In an earlier interview, writer Alexandra Shaw described it as “using the cliché of the opening of a therapy session, but also it is ultimately the beginning of any dynamic: such as working through a disagreement, getting to know someone”.
This is a play about relationships, honesty, trust and vulnerability. It is well acted and built around an interesting concept, but, for me, it needed to be much braver, delving deeper into the characters’ flaws and giving the audience more reason to invest in their stories.
Directed by Alasdair Linn
Written and Produced by Alexandra Shaw, Shaw Productions Ltd.
Illustration and Artwork by Tabitha Nutt
Lighting by Holly Higgs
Design Dramaturgy by Hollie Cohen
Assistant Stage Manager: Athena Spillius
Where Would You Like To Start? plays at the Drayton Arms Theatre until Saturday 7 November.
