The Ensemble Theatre has produced some excellent shows this year and thus, anticipation was high for their adaptation of Michael Frayn’s Olivier Award-winning comedy, Benefactors, which opened this week. Set in the 1960s housing crisis in the United Kingdom, the play centres around two couples whose lives intertwine in more ways than they could have initially imagined. While the play possibly lacks the enduring relevance necessary to faciliate optimal connection with the audience, this was still a solid interpretation of a challenging work that left the audience with much to ponder.

In the play, David (Gareth Davies), who is a determined architect, strives to build two skyscrapers that will change the face of the neighbourhood, with the seemingly unconditional support of his wife, Jane (Emma Palmer). They enlist the support of their friend Sheila (Megan Drury), who has recently left her husband Colin (Matt Minto) as a spare pair of hands. Yet after Sheila tells Colin, who is hell-bent on revenge and wages a political campaign against David’s plans, things start to become very murky.

The play is a challenge for the performers on stage, with all having to remain on stage for most of the show. In this production, this meant that they had to maintain incredible focus, not allowing their eyes to dart from the action on stage (which would distract the audience). This is incredibly difficult to do but the actors mostly did a fine job, which deserves great commendation. However, there were several missed lines and accent slips throughout the performance which did draw some focus at times. While perhaps this is attributable to the nature of the play, it would possibly be worth reconsidering the staging to some degree to allow the actors some breaks for this reason.

The strength of the interpretation also varied to some degree throughout the production, with Drury and Palmer arguably giving the strongest performances. Drury in particular, provided a nuanced insight into a person subjugated by years of subtle controlling and abusive behaviours and the potential manifestations of a response. Palmer was also excellent in her interpretation of the archetypal person of the time, which slowly became subverted as the play progressed. However, a lack of conviction in the characterisation was apparent at times, meaning the production occassionally suffered from a lack of believability,

Nick Fry’s costume design was strong and appropriate for the time period, with a particular highlight being Colin’s t-shirt in the second act. Matt Cox and David Grigg also provided thoughtful lighting and sound choices respectively.

It feels a little harsh to criticise the production too much, given that I felt most of the problems stemmed from the play itself. While the play does take an insightful look into human nature and the intricacies of the human condition, the context means that it arguably lacks the enduring relevance to maintain audience connection in the current climate. This meant that the production, at times, felt overly ‘high-brow’ and somewhat alienating as a result. While adherence to the genre and style necessitated this to some

degree, it did feel a little over-done.

Overall, this was an incredibly challenging production to pull off and the actors did a fine job given the constraints. However, while this play is considered in its treatment of human nature, the context and style are somewhat alienating which perhaps suggests that retiring this play for future seasons and considering another with similar themes may not be the worst option.

Rating: ★★★ 1/2

Benefactors plays at the Ensemble Theatre until 22nd July. For more information click here.

Photo credit: Prudence Upton