SImon Ward reviews Are You There Moriarty? at Playhouse East

Running as part of a double bill with Watershed at Playhouse East, which looks like a flat-roofed pub repurposed as a cafe/bar with a theatre space above. In the unseasonably hot May weather it was a challenge for cast and audience alike to remain cool and focused. And focus is indeed required as this multi-handed dark farce by Samantha Begeman (who also plays Katie) is bursting with dialogue, jokes and innuendo. At times, it has to be said, it seemed a bit too big for the space available, as people had to squeeze their way around furniture.

The setup is that a group of wealthy young friends who seem to have known each other forever, are gathered for a cheese and wine session organised by George (Daniel Cuckow), aided by a rather hapless waiter, Harry (Alfie Thompson Brown). George seems to be one of their friends, although he never sits down with them and also presents them with a bill at the end of the evening he has curated for them. Although it is not presented as a realistic play, there are many wines and cheeses presented. A small quibble I had was that the wines being poured did not always seem to match what was being described – often the wrong colour altogether. And I couldn’t see the final piece of cheese at all – was this an emperor’s new clothes joke?

The group sit down after a round of golf and awkwardly welcome a newcomer, Chris (Alex Ansdell), who is described as an intern at the firm run by Jonathan (Lou Bristow-Bell). He also seems to employ Michael (Dominic Bryant). Jonathan and Michael’s girlfriends, Katie (Samantha Begeman) and Maeva (Nina-Lou Bricard) are joined by Jonathan’s twin sister Lily (Abigail Sinclair) to complete a very full table. Henry Roberts gallantly plays background keyboards thoughout, responding to and sometimes driving on the action.

There is much sleazy innuendo and banter among the group. None of the couples are very happy together and there is a strong implication of controlling incestuous desires between Jonathan and Lily. Jonathan is a domineering and boorish bully, clearly used to getting his own way. Chris is way out of his comfort zone, utterly over-dressed and never able to say the right thing. Jonathan’s plan appears to be to get Chris and Lily together. She, in turn, seems damaged and rather too willing to oblige with any demand. George has put his life and soul into this evening, only to be roundly ignored.

As director, Matty Rudd does well to manage the mayhem, although some lines are lost in the chaos. There is a real sense of tensions coming to the boil. The play’s title refers to a parlour game involving blindfolded players attempting to hit each other with rolled up newspapers. It is only a matter of time before someone notices how much more exciting the game could be with all these golf clubs lying temptingly around. Coming off as a send-up of the type of Bullingdon Club soiree where as much damage as you like could be done with no consequence because the owner would be paid-off in the morning, this takes an even darker turn. If it does not quite live up to Miss Prism’s maxim about Fiction, suffice to say that the people who emerge relatively unscathed for once are the put-upon and the bullied, and for that we should be grateful.

Are You There Moriarty? is running at Playhouse East, 258 Kingsland Road, London E8 4DG until Saturday 30th May