Tell Me You’ll Think About It opens with a bang, or with a rant, as couple Phoebe and David return from the theatre with somewhat different views on the adaptation of Lysistrata which they have just watched.
Theatre critic Phoebe (Lyndsey Ruiz) rails at length against some of the irritating tropes familiar to all frequent theatregoers, while David (Boyan Petrov) will only say that it was “interesting” and wonders why Phoebe bothers going to the theatre at all if she’s determined to hate it.
This descends into a deeper conversation, about dreams and life plans and how the pair fit into each other’s lives. David is an engineer who likes football, beer and Game of Thrones, while Phoebe, a former drama student and playwright who has yet to write more than four pages, is “jealous of his capacity for being content.”
She has, in her own words, “grandiose ideas”, but is paralysed while how much she wants to achieve, a feeling familiar to most creatives, while David has more prosaic dreams but wants Phoebe to understand that his desires are still important even if she finds them boring.
The argument goes round in circles, as arguments tend to do, but remains engaging thanks to Lyndsey Ruiz’s script, which feels intensely personal, and the passion and skill of the two actors performing it.
However, without giving away too much of the plot, the ending does require some work. A false ending followed by a slightly over-long break for a costume change left the audience on press night a little confused as to whether the show was over or not, while the eventual ending needed some development, feeling a little rushed and out of kilter with the rest of the piece.
Sarah Majland’s direction is fluid, with the actors in almost constant motion around the stage, interacting with the small amount of set dressing. There isn’t much space for set at the Hen and Chickens, but not much is needed to create the feel of a living room.
Sound and lighting design are also used skilfully in the middle of the piece, with a pulsing beat and flickering lights bringing Phoebe’s distress across viscerally.
A promising piece somewhat let down by its ending, Tell Me You’ll Think About It is nonetheless sure to stimulate plenty of conversation for its audiences (although hopefully none of these will end as badly as the one which opens the play).
Tell Me You’ll Think About It runs at the Hen and Chickens until 15th March.
★★★☆☆ (3*)
Gifted tickets in return for an honest review | Photography by Sarah Majland
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