Review: Spare Room, Hen and Chickens Theatre

Most 20-something’s will have experienced the joys and nightmares of house shares. On one hand they can be great fun; sharing a home with mates, or people you hope will become mates, nights in chatting, drinking, smoking and playing games. But then there are the downsides when things don’t quite work out so well; frictions escalating; arguments over small things such as whose turn it is to wash up!

So when Jodie (Georgina Housby) moves into a house share with not just four strangers, but four males, it’s already looking like a recipe for disaster. Especially as the four are very much your stereotypical lads sharing a home; no cleaning up, no proper cooking, too much drinking and drugs, the discussion of all girls as if they’re objects rather than people – and don’t even mention the thin walls that don’t offer too much privacy when you bring someone home! Needs must, however, and so Jodie does what’s needed to fit in: she becomes one of the lads and joins in the excesses, even as she tries to make small changes to how they all live. But when your mum’s an alcoholic and you’ve previously avoided too much drinking, there is a price to pay.

Spare Room does a great job of portraying the best and worst of four lads living together. It’s playful, yet chaotic, disorganised, loud and, well, laddish. The language is coarse and sexist, and the treatment of the various females, be it girlfriends or one-night stands, is clearly deplorable. This is made all the more obvious by the presence of the one permanent female, Jodie, who witnesses it all from her inside position.

The major problem here is that the chaos is too often transferred into the performance. It’s an impressive nine strong cast, something which is always great to see in fringe, but with so many actors on the stage at any one time, there feels a lack of control within the ensemble scenes. Director Sam Dinnage needs to find a balance between the feel of unruliness and actually having order within the scenes. The play works best when it takes a step back from its laddism and offers thoughtful moments, usually when there are only two or three performers present. A short scene that is the only time no males are present says more than enough in its short time, whilst there is much to like about the way scenes are rushed through to show Jodie’s descent into the drinking culture and the effects it has upon her.

It’s at these quieter moments where the story comes more alive, taking us into some thoughtful and much needed areas of discussion, such as the misogyny that easily happens when groups of males go unchecked in their behaviour, the drinking culture that is still prevalent where people are mocked for not getting drunk enough, and even more vital, consent or the lack of it. It feels obvious where this play is heading from early on, but even so, when it reaches that moment, the way the point is delivered is still a surprise.

Spare Room might benefit from a little stripping back to allow more control. Scenes overloaded with actors certainly produce plenty of humour but add very little to the overall effect. The central message the writers are clearly aiming for does manage to find its way through the mass of bodies, however, and leaves us with a lot to ponder. The play’s exploration of lad culture and consent make it a worthy watch and one that with some small tweaks could offer plenty more to the conversation.

Written by Georgina Housby and Sam Dinnage
Directed by Sam Dinnage
Produced by Blue Duck Theatre Company

Spare Room has completed its run at Hen and Chickens Theatre.