REVIEW: STRANGERS at Lion and Unicorn Theatre 27 June - 1 July 2023

‘A hymn to urban alienation and love letter to London’s lonely’ ★★★ ½

Four black chairs face the audience, an equal distance apart on a bare stage. The ersatz street signs above tell us we are in North and East London. We start with the strained optimism of New Year’s Eve, the one day of the year when Londoners willingly interact. This evening of forced jollity and optimism for the year ahead soon passes, then four random, disconnected commuters, all young and female, judder and jolt on an underground train as they disappear into their everyday realities.

Strangers, written and produced by Nell Raynor is an hour of spoken verse that explores urban alienation. Sparingly directed by Jodie Braddick, choreographed and stylised, it's an impressive piece of work. The disconnected movements and syncopated, rhythmic dialogue underpin the trajectories of four strangers who unknowingly intersect and cross paths. The different accents remind us London is a place where people from around the world gravitate to find employment, love and dreams.

I first saw a twenty minute extract of Strangers at the Act II Festival earlier this year at the Space Theatre, a weekend event run by Amy Tickner which draws together work from fledgling playwrights and theatre makers. I was struck by the experimental, poetic approach and keen to see the full hour. I wasn’t disappointed, it was affecting as I remembered, drawing attention to city loneliness, a common experience rarely articulated so lyrically.

In this metropolitan melange, Strangers spotlights four city workers: a barista, bar manager, taxi driver and HR professional. Other than the fact they all labour long hours, each is alone, stranded in the city, pacing the relentless treadmill of working to pay bills. The taxi-driver, Bodie is “tired of travelling with no destination, a life of passing by.” The HR worker, Devin, is on a decent salary but works in coffee bars to stay on top of her workload. She’s “trapped in a life of auto-pilot.”

Each character has different motivations for being in the city. Some seek to escape or fulfil parental expectations, others to escape broken relationships, find love or fulfil their dreams. But work leaves little time for real connection or meaningful relationships and the initial romance of London becomes oppressive. Women drink alone in bars to be among people and block out feelings. Social interactions can be unwelcome, awkward or lingering. 

Strangers is a story of feeling invisible in the urban throng, a disintegration of identity that can, if prolonged, play havoc with mental and emotional health. Edward Hopper painted these estranged casualties on his canvases, the Beatles sang about Eleanor Rigby and, we see them everyday. Blank, screened off, going about their business, some sad, confused and lost. Some destined to fall through the cracks, permanently. This play reminds us that the people we encounter everyday are human and this capitalist way of life, high productivity and rampant individualism, has a human cost. Strangers, a hymn to urban alienation and a love letter to London’s lonely, is an hour well spent. On the way home, you might see your fellow commuters in a different light.

STRANGERS at Lion and Unicorn Theatre 27 June - 1 July 2023

Writer & Producer, Nell Raynor

Director, Jodie Braddick

Box Office https://www.thelionandunicorntheatre.com/whats-on

Reviewed by Nilgin Yusuf