Hole at the Royal Court Theatre
Even at an hour, Hole, the debut from Game of Thrones‘ Ellie Kendrick, is stretched thin. For a production that’s in part about taking up space, it’s an uncomfortable criticism to make. You sort of want to give it the benefit of the doubt. Evergreen female rage – it was first written a lifetime ago, in pre-Trump, pre-MeToo, still-sexist 2016 – fuels the revue, snarling and biting. But it feels amateurish, not in a way that’s purposefully part of its charm – at least not wholly – but in a way that makes the piece come across as several drafts short of a finished product.
The play is bursting with holes. Physical holes, metaphorical holes; big fluffy holes, velvet-curtained holes (Cecile Tremolieres’s set is cabaret by way of plush burrow); holes women are forced into, holes they are bursting out of. Black holes. Emotional holes. And, maybe, a hole where some depth should be.
The opening sequence is one of the better portions; each of the cast’s women step up to the mic, attempting to tell their stories only to be chased into a sinking space by a whooshing spotlight and the tick-tocking of their allocated time running out. Then the harpies turn up and the play struggles to find its shape, angrily snaking through a series of sketches that never really have any staying power.
There’s something a bit basic about the way the drama approaches its chosen avenues of expression. Myth and misogyny dominate the central segment, the stories of Pandora and Medusa – both women violated and then punished for it, trapped – told through a coordinated dance-song that is musically fun but lyrically indifferent. Towards the end, the show then takes a scientific turn, with talk of particles (rhymes with hierarchical), blackbodies and radiation vaguely attempting to tap into a celestial scope that doesn’t come off.
There’s nothing to fault with the performers – especially the devilish Rubyyy Jones – and Ebony Bones has put together a cracking score. For better or worse, directors Abbi Greenland and Helen Goalen have given the production their signature RashDash flair, though here it’s very much a case of style over substance. There just isn’t enough of anything, the play starting to slip from the mind as soon as you step back out onto Sloane Square.
Connor Campbell
Photo: The Other Richard
Hole is at the Royal Court Theatre from 28th November 2018 until 12th January 2019. For further information or to book visit the theatre’s website here.
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