The Conversation

Sarah Solemani's play looks at the way in which truth often counts for little in personal relationships. While Charlotte (Solemani) and her fiancé Tom (Rupert Evans) disclose intimate secrets about their past lives, immediately before their marriage, it's clear that Tom in particular does not tell the whole truth. Evans' countenance says it all; he seldom looks at Solemani in the eye, and tries his best to divert her attention to less contentious subjects. The sequence where they talk in the bedroom is an uncomfortable one, notable more for what is not said than anything else.

The action shifts to Charlotte's family, as she discusses her doubts with her mother Lynn (Harriet Thorpe). Like most of her close friends, Lynn attributes Charlotte's doubts to pre-marital nerves, but Charlotte's expression proves otherwise. Director Dominic Savage is particularly keen to highlight her expression through close-ups; while remaining outwardly passive, there's always that element of doubt clouding her crow. Solemani is particularly affecting in her performance.

In the end the marriage takes place, but there is a surprise ending in store for Tom, who up until now has assumed that everything will pass off without incident. Savage's camera zooms in to focus on Charlotte's face, as she assumes - perhaps wrongly - that her doubts about her husband's past might have been vindicated.

The script is sparse yet effective: both Tom, Charlotte and Charlotte's sister Bee (Anna Koval) are very fond of using the superlative "great" to describe their feelings, when it is evident that they are certainly not feeling great. Words here become a means of obfuscation rather than enlightenment. If relationships are conducted along such lines, there is very little future for them.