After six months shutdown due to COVID-19, Nottingham Playhouse has finally reopened their doors for a series of performances happening over the next few weeks to see live or stream from home.
First up is from Associate Artist James Graham – writer of the play This House and the recent TV drama Quiz – which talks about a dilemma quite a lot of people faced during lockdown. Should we be together with our loved ones or be separate?
The plot revolves around two Nottingham women named Ash (played by Pearl Mackie) and Morgan (Played by Jessica Raine). After several failed relationships, the two have just had a date which has gone very well. Suddenly as the country is plunged into lockdown, the two are faced with a choice, do they live together over lockdown or stay separated? It then goes into the situation showing what happened in those two scenarios.
This is a piece entirely based on the actorās performances and minimalist props. One aspect which worked pretty well was the comedy – which some may find too cheesy – but I personally enjoyed one of the funniest being about trying to identify birds. Both Ash and Morgan – as the only characters – are pretty much fleshed out.
As well as this, we know what kind of people they are. For example, Ash is bisexual, a vegan and runs a micro pub whilst Morgan works as a teacher – leading to some funny talk about Zoom classrooms – and later one stops watching the news surrounding the crisis. Their relationship development does feel natural, clearly showing they are friends and progress as lovers which feels believable.
Several other characteristics that we have come to associate with lockdown including attempts at Gardening, panic buyers, the NHS Clap and Black Lives Matter come up during the production, but we see them on a natural human level rather than how it is shown by the media.
Unfortunately, the structure of the play can get confusing with the constant flipping between the two scenarios, only represented as a screen projection, and at the beginning the actresses switching sides of the stage which led to some confusion. I feel this would be better if they did the first situation together and the next one separated. Also, there are several points after the party scenes where the characters break into dance which kind of feels awkward as a transition.
Ultimately, Bubble is a very human look at how lockdown has affected us for two different types of people. Mackie and Raine pretty much carry the piece on their own through their acting, but I feel there are some structural issues in terms of the writing which could be improved to make it easier for audiences to understand.
However, the content of the show helps a lot of people get a feeling and reminds us of lockdown and what we did whilst we are still close to some normality.
Keep your eyes peeled for more reviews of shows coming from the Nottingham Playhouse Unlocked Festival.
By Stuart McComb
Feature image: British Theatre Guide