Theater review by Raven Snook
Stop me if you've seen this setup before: Two diametrically opposed couples meet for small plates and small talk, but their gathering devolves into awkward pauses, ridiculous arguments and mounting aggression. This living room has been visited myriad times on stage, in the best cases (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, God of Carnage) with caustic wit and insight. Not so in Torben Betts’s dreary and overlong British import Invincible, which flirts with complex issues—grief, adultery, middle-aged malaise, widening economic divides—but can't consummate its ideas.
Overeducated, underemployed bleeding hearts Oliver (Alastair Whatley, hiding a dark side) and Emily (a high-strung Emily Bowker) have moved from London to a working-class burg to save money and live among "real" people. But the townies next door, Dawn (Elizabeth Boag, leading with her cleavage) and Alan (Graeme Brookes, beer belly exposed) may be a little too authentic: They swill booze, watch sports and think Karl Marx was related to Groucho.
Under Stephen Darcy's sluggish direction, the ostensibly comedic first act mostly fizzles—despite strenuous efforts by the cast, especially Brookes as a garrulous oaf—and the much darker second act, which hinges on absent kids and a missing cat, is an overwrought bust. The characters reveal fears and disappointments that eat away at their souls, but it's hard to care about people who have been written as stereotypes. At the end one couple is completely broken, but the audience is merely bored.
59E59 Theaters (Off Broadway). By Torben Betts. Directed by Stephen Darcy. With ensemble cast. Running time: 2hrs 25min. One intermission. Through July 2.
Follow Raven Snook on Twitter: @ravensnook
Follow Time Out Theater on Twitter: @TimeOutTheater
Keep up with the latest news and reviews on our Time Out Theater Facebook page