Ray's life has been swimming. He's not good at anything else, but despite all of his hard work, he doubts that he has the capacity to compete at the highest level. When performance enhancing drugs are discovered in the locker room, Ray's lawyer brother, Peter, defends him to the coach who should report this infraction. Lucas Hnath has written a play which not only poses questions about the pressures on athletes to perform. It also looks at the web of people around these figures who seek their own advantages in the competitor's success. However, the questions raised by the work ripple beyond the world of sport and raise issues about the benefits gained by those who simply have had access to more opportunities in life, those born into better economic circumstances, who attend better schools and have more supportive homes. What moral compromises might one feel called upon to make, or does one have the right to make, in order to level the playing field with those reared in preferential circumstances? For the not-overly-bright, Ray, such ethical dilemmas confound him, and he leaves them to his brother, coach and girlfriend as he simply aspires to have a life like "regular people." Finn Cole, as Ray, manages to exude an almost childlike mixture of vulnerability and cunning as the obtuse athlete who is ultimately more victim than cheat. His strong performance is nicely complemented by that of Ciarán Owens who is the smarter of the two siblings and who has chosen the law as his field of competition and his path to upward mobility. Owens' nicely captures that uneasy mix of sophistry and loyalty that enables Peter to survive and to protect his brother and his family. In his professional life, he has also dealt with, and perhaps succumbed to, moral challenges very similar to those faced by Ray. Director Matthew Dunster draws some nicely nuanced performances from all of the cast including Fraser James as the coach and Parker Lapaine as Ray's girlfriend, Lydia. The whole ensemble manage successfully to project the aura of Hnath's morally complex world. Anna Fleischle's set is simple, yet imaginative, and the staging of the fight scenes is brutally realistic. If we have a quibble with Red Speedo, it is that Hnath raises many provocative questions which are left hanging with an ending that is dramatic, but inconclusive. Nevertheless, this is a fascinating exploration of some serious ethical situations in sport and society. It's definitely worth taking the plunge!
Rated: ★★★★
Reviewed by J.C.
Photo by Johan Persson
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