There’s no interval in Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ sluggish and meandering two-hour play The Comeuppance – which has its UK premiere at the Almeida Theatre – though it seems helpful to compartmentalise the play into the standard three act structure to illustrate exactly where and how this tale about a group of old school friends prepping for a 20-year reunion party comes without the profound overarching message the title suggests.
Let’s start at the beginning – it makes sense. We’re on the porch of Ursula’s house (pleasantly designed by Arnulfo Maldonado, and even positioned slightly to the right rather than straight on at the audience, to suggest everything’s a little bit off), and at first it’s just Emilio who’s shown up, though it isn’t long before there’s a lighting change and he becomes the embodiment of someone else. I managed to note down that it’s Death, but after this first monologue, I don’t care for these addresses to camera, seeing as there’s a disorientating and echoing second voice saying his lines simultaneously (which, distractingly, sounds like it’s coming from someone in the left side of the audience) makes it almost impossible to make out the actual contents of what’s being said.
Death, in time, possesses all the other characters as the show progresses. I have no doubt that knowing exactly what was said in these addresses, without having to endure such terrible sound design, would have influenced my opinion of the show. When it’s medic Kristina’s (Harry Potter’s Katie Leung) turn to comment on mortality, I can just about hone in on her talking – in her natural Scottish accent – about ‘bravery’ in facing death. It’s hardly an acute observation, even if, on the surface, it’s a relatable one. Of course, I can’t speak for those I failed to hear altogether, which is infuriating, as it reads like I’m not giving a full, comprehensive review.
Another shocking oversight in terms of sound from the production is the playing of high pitched ringing tones in the final scene, almost insufferable for those of us with tinnitus, with no heads up given in the show’s content warnings. The absent member of the group, Simon, eventually rings through to chat to everyone, but this too is faint and garbled, difficult to hear even if you close your eyes and focus on nothing else.
Anyway, Caitlin (Yolanda Kettle of The Interview and anthropology) shows up to join Emilio and Ursula not long later. She’s the wife to a hardcore Republican and is soon established as the bubbly character who ends up irritating and offending others with her heightened extroversion. Kristina (Harry Potter’s Katie Leung) and her provocative cousin, veteran Paco (Ferdinand Kingsley) soon follow suit, but before then we have to contend with a series of inconsequential conversations reminiscing on the good ol’ days. A painful lack of self-awareness in the production emerges when we learn the group had an inside joke for when someone is rambling (in the form of pretending to snap their neck), as the entire first act is without any action at all – be it in physicality or dramatic tension – and is instead full of dull exposition. Ursula, who is visually impaired, has to contend with an uncomfortable tangent from Caitlin about restaurants where you eat in the dark to simulate blindness, for example.
The second act, and thus the main source of conflict, revolves around Paco’s arrival. He messes with Emilio’s drink to make it spicy, attracts the attention of Caitlin (also to the frustration of Emilio), and has PTSD from his time in the military which results in seizures and episodes. Kingsley gives a standout performance here in a particularly sensitive and challenging role. If Emilio is to be our protagonist (no one character is sufficiently established as such here), then Paco is very much the antagonist and catalyst for drama. It’s just a shame that the liveliness of his character isn’t injected into the slower paced first act in some way by director Eric Ting.
Then the third and final act comes across as the tacking on of the existential commentary which could – and should – have been woven into earlier moments of the production. Emilio confides in Ursula (Is God Is’ Tamara Lawrence, who is criminally underused as a caring character with a visual impairment and not much else) and shares a number of secrets related to Caitlin (who’s gone to the reunion party with Paco and Kristina), but it just gives the impression that Jacobs-Jenkins is hurriedly searching for the wider idea which justifies us listening to the group natter for ages. Death comes back to give the audience a pointed idea to “think about”, Emilio rambles on about trusting your feelings and wanting a purposeful life, and it really does feel heavy-handed and rushed.
Effectively, the play gives us a whistle stop tour of multiple character expositions from a group of unlikeable individuals (save for Ursula, who’s honestly just trying to keep the peace) before hurriedly rounding it off with existentialism. Indeed, so abrupt is its conclusion that when it finally cuts to black, a small smattering of hesitant applause breaks out as I’m left to wonder if it really did end on a rather bum note.
The Comeuppance doesn’t exactly reach new heights, rather it falls flat with little purpose.
★★
The Comeuppance is now playing at the Almeida Theatre until 18 May. The show will be captioned on 29 April, with audio described and relaxed environment performances taking place on 4 and 8 May respectively.
Production Images: Marc Brenner.
Disclaimer: I was invited to watch ‘The Comeuppance’ for free in exchange for a review of the performance as a member of the press. I did not receive payment for this article and all opinions stated above are honest and my own.
Liam O'Dell 