Review: POISON, Orange Tree Theatre

A bereaved couple meet after a long separation. Stilted pleasantries give way to raw accusations and brutal truths. It would be very easy for Poison to be a melodramatic hour and twenty minutes of trite pain, closure and gaining the strength to move on. Thankfully this UK premiere of Lot Vekemans' critically acclaimed two-hander avoids all such obvious clichés to produce a production of immense subtlety and sensitivity.

He and She meet at a cemetery to discuss the horrific possibility that poisoning of the ground water may necessitate the relocation of their son's grave. Forced politeness is followed by a dialogue that undulates in emotions, revealing suppressed tensions and resentments on both sides.

From tender recollections about preferences for gobstoppers to tense and often raw confessions of how much hurt still remains, the dialogue grips the attention. The main reason for this is the naturalness of the writing. Both actors use the silences to full effect, never rushing as they allow the awkwardness to build. Vekemans' dialogue manages to convey so much, often without saying very much at all. She also avoids a play of unrelenting bleakness, with plenty of light and shade in the dialogue.

As She, Claire Price is initially full of nervous energy, chattering quickly and smiling with a rictus grin. Damaged and haunted by the death of her son, her grief is visceral and occasionally gut-wrenching. She continues to live but no longer really has a life, as her grief means she simply sleepwalks; observing rather than participating. She is shattered and the audience feels her pain keenly. Price is not always likeable in the role, particularly as she baits He for appearing to have moved on with his life and yet we constantly empathise with her. It is a clever balance.

Zubin Varla plays He; softly spoken and seemingly calmer. It becomes clear that underneath the still demeanour lies a tightly wound and quiet anger, which occasionally shatters the surface. His life has progressed, but he obviously laments the life that he lost. Varla gives a very nuanced and delicate performance.

There is a wonderful chemistry between the couple, with prickling resentment fused with flashes of the happy relationship that obviously once existed. It is heartbreaking to watch where life has brought them. It is a complex situation resulting from one simple, devastating event.

Simon Daw's design of two blue fabric benches is suitably simple so as to concentrate all attentions on the actors. The intimacy of the dialogue and the subject matter make this a perfect play for the Orange Tree space. Director Paul Miller keeps all movement very natural; both actors stand, sit and shuffle around the benches. He goes to a vending machine to get a coffee, She drinks water from the water cooler. It would be very pedestrian if it wasn't for the seething mass of pain and rage underlying every action.

This is a difficult and deceptively simple production, carried delicately by compellingly poignant performances from both actors.

Poison is at the Orange Tree Theatre until 2 December

Photo Credit: Richard Davenport/The Other Richard