You Game, RADA - ★★★ - Until November 30, 2019


Part of the psychology of winning games is to convince the other player that you are going to win. Similarly in the theatre the audience has to be convinced of the world that is being created. This is particularly true with constructs as intricate and artificial as Anthony Shaffer's wonderful thriller. Just as Jack Guest (Ivan Murphy) must seduce his wife's lover, Bella (Alice McCarthy) into joining his scheme, the audience must be brought to accept the premises of the piece. This doesn't really happen in the first act of this production. Jack's manipulation of Bella doesn't quite ring true nor does her gullible acquiescence to his plan. He seems already convinced that she will go along with his scheme, and she comes across as a little too strong willed to do so. For us, the second act worked better and the tone and pace seemed more relaxed, more confident and more convincing. The updating of Shaffer's piece was great fun and Sam Ra has given us some sharp dialogue and great quips. Again the delivery didn't always rise to the quality of the writing. It sometimes seemed off in not allowing time for the audience to ponder and savour some of the clever exchanges or to grasp the twists in the plot. Still Shaffer's story remains a wonderfully engaging piece and this update is well worth seeing.

 Reviewed by J.C.

 Our Score:  ☆☆☆ 

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WHEN, WHERE, GETTING THERE:
Until November 30, 2019
Tue - Sat: 7:30 pm
RADA
Nearest tube: Goodge Street
https://www.rada.ac.uk/whats-on/you-game/
Map & Location: 62-64 Gower St, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 6ED, UK

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