Review: Tape, Lion and Unicorn Theatre

Cellar Door has a good track record of covering gritty plays, with those by Philip Ridley being a popular choice in their portfolio. But for this year’s Camden Fringe they have taken on a writer perhaps less well-known, in Stephen Belber’s Tape.

Tape is very much in keeping with the company’s choices though. Like Ridley’s work, it has a seedy underbelly that exposes the darker side of human behaviour. Set entirely in a cheap motel room, act one sees old school friends Vince (Paul Kelvin) and Jon (Nick Chinn) catch up for the first time in some years. Jon is there to premiere his latest film; Vince meanwhile seems to be there because it’s as good a place to be as any. What begins as the pair going through the usual banter of old pals catching up slowly takes a darker turn as they move on to discussing Amy, Vince‘s high-school girlfriend, with whom Jon slept at the same time. Except the question of that sexual encounter develops into a conversation on consent and how each remembers actual events of that time. It’s the introduction of Amy herself (Brittany Rex) that further clouds how each recalls the night and just whose memory is the correct one.

This is a complex script, with arguments going left, right, up, down and in intricate circles. And it’s this complexity that perhaps restricts the play’s success. Squeezed into 55 minutes, it feels rather rushed. Early exchanges between Kelvin and Chinn especially are delivered at breakneck speed, as if both have somewhere else to be. It just needs to be slower, allowing us time to absorb each layer of the argument. The introduction of Rex’s Amy at least brings a little more calmness to proceedings and allows the two men to adjust their delivery to match hers.

But speed aside, the trio do manage to convince us of their roles, American accents stay consistent, while each has a look of who they are meant to be. Kelvin’s Vince is very much the resentful waster, his grubby vest giving the look of someone who is probably in front of the TV as much as he sees the light of day. Chinn’s Jon is the suave filmmaker – or at least he believes he is, even if his film is at a festival in the middle of nowhere, while Amy brings the composure of an Assistant DA. It’s also lovely to see commitment in the set, especially for Camden Fringe, with a double bed and hotel sink helping set the right environment for that cheap motel.

For a play that is a quarter of a century old now, Tape still resonates, and you can see the reasons the team felt it a good choice. Themes of consent are perhaps more powerful now than at the time of writing, but it is good to see the topic covered in a much more oblique way, showing how memories of events can differ; that ten years after the incident it can be difficult to truly recollect the details of what really happened. 

Cellar Door is adept at making interesting choices, and in Tape they continue their fine selections, bringing powerful plays to the fringe and showing that some themes are entirely universal.

Written by Stephen Belber
Directed by Jaimee Doyle
Assistant Director: Donovan Lenten
Fight Director: Nora Iso-Kungas
Lighting & Sound Technician: Isabel Melim
Produced by Cellar Door Theatre Company

Tape plays at Lion & Unicorn Theatre until Saturday 15 August as part of the Camden Fringe.