Review: SWEAT, Citizens Theatre

Sweat is a political play by Lynn Nottage, first staged in 2015 and revived for a 2026 tour, directed by Joanna Bowman. 

Sweat opens with Jason (Lewis MacDougall) and Chris (Rudolphe Mdlongwa) having individual meetings with their parole officer Evan (Ako Mitchell). Jason has been released after eight years in prison, and his face is adorned with white supremacist tattoos. It’s unclear what the men did to receive their sentence and this is what makes Sweat so gripping along with the strong performances.

We go back to 2000 and industry is thriving in Pennsylvania. It’s a different time of job applications where people gain employment based on who they know rather than written CVs. The factory workers all gather to drink in the same pub post shift, and regardless of the state they get themselves in, they’re always back in the line the next morning on time. 

Stan (Christopher Middleton) is the mild-mannered bartender who is a dab hand at dealing with the fiery women who inhabit his pub after their shifts. Tracey (Lucianne McEvoy) and Jessie (Laura Cairns) are longtime friends who have been in the job since their teens and they can’t hide their resentment when the other part of their trio Cynthia (Debbie Korley) gets a promotion. 

As part of her promotion, Cynthia is tasked with informing her friends that they are being asked to take a 60% pay cut in order to save jobs. With most of the staff on the picket line, the company start advertising in Spanish and bartender Oskar (Manuel Pacific) takes up the opportunity. Racism creeps through despite Oskar being born in the USA and tensions run high in the bar. 

Lynn Nottage’s writing is sharp and compelling throughout and Sweat feels like a much shorter play than it is. The plot is unpredictable and the performances are deeply engaging.

Sweat is a thrilling piece of writing that makes for an exhilarating theatre experience in this fresh new production. 

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