REVIEW: THE KEY at White Bear Theatre 25 October – 5 November 2022

‘…there is a lack of polish surrounding this production, which compromises the strength of the experience’ ★★ ½

This production of The Key is from London-based company Other Space, an organisation dedicated to highlighting European theatre for English audiences. It is refreshing to see a Hungarian play featuring Eastern European performances in roles that go beyond the typified examples we see in mainstream British media. However, there is a lack of polish surrounding this production, which compromises the strength of the experience.

The opening scenes make clear the play’s preoccupation with the infiltration of politics within the family unit. Two estranged brothers meet in a café, ostensibly so that the elder may ask a favour of his younger brother. Older Brother is domineering, accusatory, suspicious of his brother and sneering at the café and its offerings. Meanwhile, Younger Brother is a cheerful scavenger, hoovering up item after item from the café menu, much to his brother’s dismay. Added depth may have been achieved were the brothers not cast so strictly to type. Michal Nowak as Older Brother is too uncertain in his performance, his arrogance and bravado too much of an act, so that as the play progresses and the character softens, his arc feels incomplete and unsatisfying. It almost feels like his role could have been reversed with Mateusz Mirek, here playing the bohemian Younger Brother, to greater exploit the tension between the superficial exterior and complex internal lives.

The play is very much one of two halves. Before the interval, the set is sparse, much as we would expect from a small pub theatre, and if the dialogue feels meandering, the action at least feels contained. After the interval we return to a richly dressed domestic space, which gives the production a haphazard energy with actors stumbling over the busy set to keep up with the frenetic pace of the action. Fundamentally, this set does not offer enough space for the physical comedy that the direction demands.

The denouement of the play is rooted in farce, with a seemingly never-ending parade of complications and contradictions, which will feel familiar to English audiences. However, rhythmically and structurally, the play is unlike traditional British theatre. The characters make references to memories and events, both personal and political, which are never revisited or resolved.  The brothers’ lives are messy, and the play boldly refuses to comfort the audience with a neat ending. Audiences will be surprised by the way the story careens out of control and may feel unsatisfied by the constant introduction of new information without subsequent relief. Conversely, one of the play’s great strengths is the rich backstory, lending a sense of authenticity to this family dynamic.

The Key by András Forgách

A new English translation by Other Space Productions

White Bear Theatre

25 October – 5 November 2022

https://www.whitebeartheatre.co.uk/whatson/The-Key

Reviewer: Natalie Mackinnon

Natalie is a writer and playwright from Edinburgh. She is a graduate of the Lir Academy for Dramatic Arts in Dublin and the Traverse Young Writers group in Edinburgh. Her writing has been performed on stage in the UK and Ireland and has been adapted for radio by the BBC.