At a time when US congressman Todd Akin can speak of “legitimate rape”, and our own George Galloway can call having sex with a sleeping woman “bad sexual etiquette”, this revival of American playwright Stephen Belber's 1999 play feels as relevant and timely as ever.
Small-time drug dealer Vince (Marc Elliott) has travelled to the Midwest for the film festival debut of his old friend Jon (Darren Bransford), a low-budget film director. During a highly uncomfortable evening in Vince's motel room, Vince accuses Jon of raping his high-school sweetheart, Amy (Kate Loustau) during their senior year; but Amy herself appears to see things differently.
Timeliness, however, is not enough to distract from the play's many flaws: Vince's troubled life is never fully explored, and neither are his reasons for attacking his supposed best friend. Though Belber borrows the staccato rhythms of Sam Shepard or David Mamet, sometimes to comic effect, he has none of their acute awareness of tension and motive. The unsettling result is that we're never really made to care about what did or didn't happen to Amy.
Thomas King's astute production goes some way towards papering over these issues – the fights are beautifully choreographed, and there are some committed performances, particularly from Bransford. Elliott, best known to TV viewers as Syed from 'EastEnders', also does his best with a frustratingly one-dimensional role.