Review: Four Play / Meat, The Weston Studio, Bristol Old Vic – ‘Superb acting from the next generation of acting talent’

by Tom Henry

READ ORIGINAL REVIEW HERE

A double header of plays performed by the next generation of rising stars at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School explore the switchback nature of modern relationships and the myriad ways we get ourselves into trouble, particularly when we don’t quite intend to. In short, it’s going to get messy – quite literally, in the case of Meat, the second performance of the evening.

First up is Four Play, a clever comedy of manners that deftly navigates the delicate balancing act between monogamous ‘settling down’ and the desire to experience the full gamut of sexuality before the pipe and slippers appear.

Rafe (Osian Davies) and Pete (Elis Owen) are in a conventional relationship. They drink Chablis and read literary fiction. Pete, however, is rightly bored of seven years wearing chinos and sensible shirts and is looking for a walk on the wild side.

Enter Michael (Charlie Oswin) a friend of the couple, and one half of an ‘open’ relationship with boyfriend Andy (Callum Anthony). Pete talks Rafe into a three-way dalliance with Michael, who agrees to bed them both. What none of them predict is Andy’s reaction, which is far from the liberal, open-minded one we might expect.

This is a well-constructed and superbly acted piece that shifts from observational comedy to emotional depth, ending with a twist that sees all characters freed from constraint as they face their futures honestly, if not entirely willingly.

Meat, the second offering of the night, doesn’t quite have the same strength of construction and suffers a little as a result. Max (Elysia Showan) is a writer and influencer who is determined to confront an ex-boyfriend, Ronan (Odhran Grimes), she believes has raped her. I say ‘believes’ – Max doesn’t seem exactly sure herself, yet she’s written the incident into a memoir due out any moment. Ronan is by now a primped chef and the co-owner of a Dublin restaurant of the kind that serves bacon rashers with ice cream. Yeah, that kind…

The pair meet over dinner, which is served by co-owner and potential new love interest Jo (Ame Emore). Somehow, Ronan manages to charm Max into reliving the glories of their past relationship, while simultaneously minimising the drunken incident that has led to the accusation. There is high-level shouting, spaghetti throwing, tables tipped over and the aforesaid ice cream being vomited up, before a resolution of sorts is reached.

The cast give equally strong performances, albeit that they’re battling against a script which lacks certainty. Perhaps the ambiguity was intentional, but as I said before, it all got a bit messy – and not in a good way.

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