TREATS.

London.

TREATS
by Christopher Hampton.

Garrick Theatre.
Mon-Sat 8pm Mat Thu 3pm Sat 5pm.
Runs 1hr 45min One interval.

TICKETS: 0870 890 1104.
www.nimaxtheatres.com/treats (booking fee by ‘phone or online).
Review: Timothy Ramsden 9 March.

Not much of one, really.
Why would an educated, articulate woman return to an abusive relationship? That’s the ugly situation behind the wit and elegance of Christopher Hampton’s 1976 comedy. Ann throws out considerate, diplomatic Patrick and knowingly sinks back to life with violent journalist Dave.

She’d rather be battered than bored. Dave is witty, decisive, risk-taking (staying at the Dorchester while penurious). Patrick can’t make up his mind, and is a mess of sniffles, snuffles and itches. Dave is a whirlwind, Patrick the calm without a storm.

As for Ann, it’s hard to say. Billie Piper stays outside the character. There are plenty of smiles and frowns, and deliberate facial expressions you’d recognise across a crowded cappuccino-shop. But as for what’s underneath, the current that produces these ripples, there’s no more idea than there is as to – well, what’s making Dave tick.

With a sense of character no deeper than his leather-jacket, Kris Marshall fails to reconcile Dave's impulsive and vulnerable sides. Apparently back from 6 weeks cowering on floors in Basra, he gives no sense of someone who’d stick it out even that near the ground. The flatly-expressed experiences that define his nature are ironed-out, leaving him featureless other than as an immature bully.

Updating hasn’t helped. The change from LPs to CDs robs the opening of its first good joke, while the references to a stagnant Britain still speak 1970s rather than today. There are unhelpful details; a crucial after-dinner scene is hijacked by placing Ann on a seat so high she’d have needed a fork-lift truck rather than a mere fork to have eaten anything.

Director Laurence Boswell has a staunch theatrical track-record, notably with Golden Age Spanish drama. But this is a play that works through silences - there’s a brief solo scene for each of the characters – and by passions looming under the interplay of wit and directness, rather than upfront explication.

Maybe that’s why Lawrence Fox’s Patrick is the only one to make a mark. Working through reactions, considering his words, he alone gives a sense of character behind the lines. In this context, that’s quite a treat.

Ann: Billie Piper.
Patrick: Laurence Fox.
Dave: Kris Marshall.

Director: Laurence Boswell.
Designer: Jeremy Herbert.
Lighting: Mark Henderson.
Sound: Ian Horrocks-Taylor.
Voice coach: Barbara Houseman.
Fight director: Terry King.
Assistant director: Tom Littler.

2007-03-12 11:22:52