You’d have been forgiven for thinking there was a lightning storm brewing as Chris Evans walked out of the Garrick Theatre on Monday night. However, despite the barrage of paparazzi flash-lights, he had a cheerful grin on his face. To judge from his face, his verdict on Treats was a big thumbs-up to Billie. But, given that he’s hardly impartial, we thought we’d better give you a bit more to go on:
Who’s in it?
Billie won’t be the only familiar face you’ll find in this play, though; Kris Marshall who you’ll remember as the loveable klutz from My Family (or the long-suffering new-man of the BT adverts) takes on an altogether different role as the aggressive, opinionated and bullying ex-boyfriend, Dave. In fact, his usual typecast - the amiable but unfortunate puppy-dog - is taken on by Lawrence Fox (from Gosford Park and Becoming Jane). Lawrence’s character, Patrick, is the third point in the play’s fraught love-triangle.
So, what’s it about?
Dave, world-jaded journalist, returns home from a stint in war-torn Basra to find that in his absence Ann (played by Billie) has changed the locks and moved-in the most boring man in her office on the rebound. Tired of his intellectual tyranny and very un-intellectual philandering, Ann appears to have found a quiet happiness with the sweet and thoughtful Patrick. Dave’s refusal to accept her rejection, though, and Patrick’s cripplingly easy-going nature put the three of them in a stalemate of territory, possessions and desire.
What’s it like?
Initially, the play feels like a British sitcom; it has a cosy, three-person cast, a static “apartment” set and witty, fast-flowing banter (though if it were a sitcom it’d be a very well scripted one). As the action unfolds, though, a sinister battle for emotional possession begins to show through, motives, passions and allegiances are relentlessly interrogated and all three characters begin to crack under the pressure.
But, will I like it?
Treats may enrage you and it may frustrate you, but only because the characters feel like people you may have met in the real world and their situation is one that begs an uncomfortable question about the ways that men and women behave in relationships. You might see echoes of your own relationships, in fact, poking their familiar faces through the witty, energetic dialogue. So, if you like a few thought-provoking home truths, served up with a good help
ing of smarts and laughs, then you’ll love it.
Buy tickets to Treats from £25
Sara Sha’ath
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