A first date, two strangers and a bottle of wine. Chiedza Rwodzi’s debut play sees the audience immersed in the intimacy of Zodwa and Malcolm’s meeting from the jump as it begins in the crowd, moving onto the stage. Taking place over the course of an evening, their proximity to one another is intensified by the inward setting of Malcolm’s London home. Their dynamic is one of push and pull, compounded by ties they share and where they diverge; both Zimbabweans, they have enduring and unique relationships to their heritage and over the next 50 minutes their conversation evolves into nuanced and captivating realms encompassing place, gender, spirituality, religion, and the ripple effects of trauma on their lives.
The purposefully minimalistic staging emphasises the pair, but it is their flawless performance which keeps the audience rapt throughout. Through playful banter to moments of tension that rise and peak, even to extremes, they navigate and convey subtleties and emotions extraordinarily, conveying distance to closeness to claustrophobia. The space between them is constantly shifting, always charged. The ending in and of itself creates blunt emotional impact hard to forget: but ultimately it is the more nuanced subtleties and explorations which come beforehand that truly linger on.
Strangers and Revelations, theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall, until 23 Aug (not 17), 12.05pm