In fifth week, the Wadham Moser is to be transformed into a dimly lit boarding school bedroom within which high risk, clandestine games of poker take place among wealthy pupils flaunting daddy’s money. Such an atmosphere is skilfully created by new director Hugh Jeffery, with the stage lit by a solitary desk lamp and torches. Sections of the audience surround the poker table which is central to the play’s action throughout. One feels truly immersed in the tensions of this illicit schoolboy gambling club. As student Alexander Darby’s writing debut, the script is not bad at all, even impressive in areas, although the affair between Sasha (Fen Greatley) and Henry (Henry Hudson) appeared somewhat gratuitous and verged on cliché given the setting; there is little new or exciting in presenting ham fisted homoeroticism in such a context, and it did the rest of the script a disservice.
Nonetheless, the building of the tension between the characters is palpable, with the brief fearful outbursts of Will perfectly balancing the resilient calm of Johnson, and Jeffrey ought to be congratulated on bringing this out. However, I do question some of his directorial choices; Greatley seemed rather miscast; his performance never really took off, lacking the anarchic charisma that his character required in the exploiting of Will (Maxwell Thomas-McGenity). Hudson was more impressive, his foreboding lines regarding the dangers involved in these furtive poker games were delivered very well indeed. Some good aspects then; impressive mise en scène (especially given the rather uninspiring space) and writing that was satisfactory for the most part, showing brilliant potential in places. The acting was a similarly mixed bag, and it remains to be seen whether problems in performance will be resolved by the first night. I do hope so, as this could prove to be quite a tense, atmospheric night in the Moser.
3.5 STARS
