BEHIND CLOSED DOORS | BRAW THEATRES, HILL STREET THEATRE
★★★★
“Both actors create some beautifully seductive moments without a word being spoken…’
If Jude and Charlie, the couple at the heart of Corey Muizelaar’s brooding new play, Behind Closed Doors, had Facebook profiles, under relationship, at least one, if not both, would declare, ‘It’s complicated’.
When Jude met Charlie, the attraction was strong and quick. He fell hard. When Charlie met Jude, it was ”just another quick shag in the back of a car’. However, they say opposites attract and so it proved… But when does care become coercive control, love merge with need, and a romantic relationship become toxic?
With themes including drug abuse, violence, victimhood and emotional blackmail, amongst others, Behind Closed Doors unfolds in a series of short, snappy vignettes. Snapshots, cinematic in style, that chart Jude and Charlie’s unravelling affair as much by what is not said than what is – a perfectly placed soundtrack of 16 songs by artistes ranging from Taylor Swift to Nena, New Order to Paolo Nutini and Harry Styles to The 1975 is used to tap into the emotional heart of the piece.
If that means what sparse dialogue there is can seem fragmented and occasionally perfunctory, director Jason Marc-Williams ensures the piece keeps its pace and the narrative flow consistent.
As Jude, Muizelaar clearly draws on his own experiences reflected in his script to deliver an instinctive, emotionally raw and real performance that nicely contrasts with the explosive anger of Ben Robert Cunningham’s cleverly underplayed Charlie.
If the script relies on the supporting songs a little too much to heighten the storytelling, both actors share an onstage chemistry that allow them to create some beautifully seductive moments without a word being spoken; a scene in which Charlie dresses Jude for work in particular is painfully tender.
Addressing the age-old question, can we change the ones we love, or indeed should we even try, Behind Closed doors remains dark, relentless and challenging to the end and yet somehow retains a degree of hope.
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