Review: I AND YOU, Hampstead Theatre

Hampstead Theatre hosts the UK premiere of Lauren Gunderson's award-winning I and You. The show, captained by artistic director Edward Hall, sees the stage debut of Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams, and Zach Wyatt's first professional production after graduating from Guildhall this past June.

An exciting cast for an earth-shattering play which centres around Caroline, a housebound teenage girl who suffers from a debilitating illness. When Anthony shows up with waffle fries and an unfinished school project on Walt Whitman due the next day, they end up bonding in ways that she (and the audience) couldn't have foreseen.

Gunderson pens a clever script, scattering hints and nudges regarding the subject before turning her piece upside down in the gut-wrenching final moment - heightened by Michael Pavelka's gorgeous set. She builds well-rounded teenagers who are not only coming to terms with their identities and finding their own place in the world, but who have to deal with major life-changing concepts.

She handles death and illness in a breezy yet poignant way, letting Caroline unload a lifetime of pain on Anthony line by line as they get closer. Albeit generally very realistic, the dialogue has the tendency to try to be too quirky at times, falling into a loop of one-liners that are slightly forced on occasions.

Hall, as expected, uses his stage impeccably, moving his actors about seamlessly while determining the pace unitedly with Gunderson's words. Pavelka's design of Caroline's room is a teenage dream. A huge skylight sprinkled with snow looks down on the pair while pop culture references and photos crowd the girl's space, along with fairy lights.

Williams and Wyatt are bouncy and energetic, pushing through initial nerves and thin overacting. They establish their chemistry assuredly through the silliness and awkwardness of their characters' ages, plunging into moral matters fearlessly and delivering performances that, unquestionably, will become more and more polished with time.

A play that hides a devastating theme, I and You is, ultimately, a celebration of life and its peaks and valleys.

I and You runs at Hampstead Theatre until 24 November.

Photo credit: Manuel Harlan

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