Oh, The Humanity & Other Good Intentions

Synopsis

5 short plays about perfectly imperfect people. We'd like you to meet a bunch of people with something on their mind. There's a coach with an awkward confession to make and a spokeswoman who doesn't know what to say. This man and that woman want to fall in love, but they're not quite sure how. That couple over there don't know whether they're going to a christening or a funeral. Oh, and these two people just want to take your picture, so just act natural, ok? Witty, charming and playful, Oh the Humanity exposes the terrible hope and hilarious uncertainty of our lives, from one of New York's hottest young writers.

Our Review:

Theo Bosanquet - 19 September 2012

Will Eno is a New York playwright with a sharply increasing UK profile. For the uninitiated, Oh, The Humanity provides a perfect introduction to his work, comprising five playlets covering a broad base of themes, styles and concerns.

It was first seen in 2007 and has already dated somewhat, though Erica Whyman’s production for Northern Stage (which debuted last year) is lucidly staged and pitch-perfectly performed by Tony Bell, Lucy Ellinson and John Kirk.

It starts strongly, with Kirk delivering a monologue brilliantly titled Behold the Coach, in a Blazer, Uninsured, which sees a down-on-his-luck football coach explaining his shambles of a season whilst mourning a lost love. As with the later pieces, lines jump out like fish from a stream; "My life is like a sunset – stunning, and then over," he reflects.

Next we see a deeply middle-of-the-road couple in the familiar set-up of a dating agency video. This was my least favourite o...

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