Aha - I thought that this one reminded me of something else I've seen at Red Stitch, and it turned out that I was thinking of "Middletown", which was also by Will Eno. Like that other, "The Realistic Joneses" trucks in a quiet, finding the extraordinary in the ordinary, not quite
naturalistic but not quite fantastic either, sharp-edged but kind strain
of contemporary theatre, which I like a lot when done well, as it is here.
Two sets of Joneses become neighbours in small town America, Bob and Jennifer, and John and Pony. Their first interactions are banal to an extent that's almost farcical, all of them talking past each other and at cross-purposes; we know Bob is unwell and there's a hint of ASD to the way John interacts, while Pony comes across as both none-too-bright and, as she herself says later, possessed of no attention span whatsoever, while Jennifer's stoicism tells a story in itself.
But as their succession of encounters proceeds in a series of short scenes - a form to which I'm also drawn in both theatre and literature, perhaps in part because of the spaces it leaves between action - and more is revealed about each of the couples, and some of the things that they share - as well as the ways in which they can bring comfort to each other - are brought to light, the play progresses to a real poignancy, well served by the staging I think.
Sarah Sutherland as Jennifer and Ella Caldwell as Pony were both completely convincing (the former role having maybe more dramatic heft, but the latter perhaps the harder to strike the right tone with), Neil Pigot as Bob brought a ruined-hulking presence that is important to the role, while Justin Hosking's performance was, for me, the most difficult to pin down - it felt a touch too stylised, though it's hard to know how much of that is in the character as written as opposed to in the performing.
I was touched by this one, especially the gentle note on which it ends, with its intimations of how things might have been and the kind of accommodation that may be possible with how things are - apart from the wonderful John, it was the highlight of the theatre-going year so far.
(w/ Cass)
Two sets of Joneses become neighbours in small town America, Bob and Jennifer, and John and Pony. Their first interactions are banal to an extent that's almost farcical, all of them talking past each other and at cross-purposes; we know Bob is unwell and there's a hint of ASD to the way John interacts, while Pony comes across as both none-too-bright and, as she herself says later, possessed of no attention span whatsoever, while Jennifer's stoicism tells a story in itself.
But as their succession of encounters proceeds in a series of short scenes - a form to which I'm also drawn in both theatre and literature, perhaps in part because of the spaces it leaves between action - and more is revealed about each of the couples, and some of the things that they share - as well as the ways in which they can bring comfort to each other - are brought to light, the play progresses to a real poignancy, well served by the staging I think.
Sarah Sutherland as Jennifer and Ella Caldwell as Pony were both completely convincing (the former role having maybe more dramatic heft, but the latter perhaps the harder to strike the right tone with), Neil Pigot as Bob brought a ruined-hulking presence that is important to the role, while Justin Hosking's performance was, for me, the most difficult to pin down - it felt a touch too stylised, though it's hard to know how much of that is in the character as written as opposed to in the performing.
I was touched by this one, especially the gentle note on which it ends, with its intimations of how things might have been and the kind of accommodation that may be possible with how things are - apart from the wonderful John, it was the highlight of the theatre-going year so far.
(w/ Cass)
