Mydidae

Synopsis

One bathroom, two people. A story of intimacy, fragility and the darker side of love. About a relationship witnessed in minute, devastating detail. David and Marian's different perspectives of the event and their conflicting views test their relationship and force brutal realities into the forefront of their consciousness.

Our Review:

Theo Bosanquet - 8 March 2013

Jack Thorne's intriguingly titled two-hander (named after a group of large flies, apparently) is set entirely in a bathroom, where a couple spend a day going through familiar routines and sharing some startlingly intimate moments.

I've always been fond of plays that evoke lifestyle (think Stoppard's Real Thing), and Thorne - aided by designer Amy Jane Cook - does it exceptionally well here. Marian and David's clawfoot bath tells you everything you need to know about the kind of people they are; metropolitan, creative, the archetypal young and upwardly-mobile middle class couple.

But both bear scars that come into frightening perspective as the play progresses. The centrepiece scene, in which the couple share a bath, builds to a shattering climax and inserts brutality into what should be the most intimate of acts.

Indeed, 'intimate' is the watchword. Stage nudity can often seem an unnecessary distraction, but here it feels essential and is skilfu...

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Latest User Review

steveatplays - 30 March 2013:

Brilliant brave believable performances from Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Keir Charles! Marvellous dialogue (eg a classic speech about "first times", like the disturbing first time we realise we can "kill an animal.") The way in which Charles' character's hidden sadness mutates into madness, crushed as he is by Waller-Bridge's character's superiority in class, education, height, appearance, etc seemed believable to me. But I refrain from giving 5 stars to this as there are not enough psychological clues written into Waller-Bridge's character to make me accept that she would act in the way she does at the end of this play. Yes, grief can make us yearn for punishment, but the way in which we punish ourselves depends on who we are, and I don't think the groundwork is sufficiently laid here for the ending we get. That said, it wouldn't take many more drafts to make this play perfect. :)...

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