Review: OLEANNA, Theatre Royal Bath

Can a controversial production that was staged nearly 30 years ago still feel relevant today? The answer is a resounding yes.

From debates around safe spaces, cancel culture and free speech on university campuses; to allegations of bullying (think Secretary of State Priti Patel and outgoing political strategist Dominic Cummings) and sexual harassment by heavy-hitters like Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey, a new production of David Mamet's contentious play couldn't be more pertinent.

In this COVID-friendly two-hander - the second of three shows in the theatre's Welcome Back Season, following Harold Pinter's Betrayal and preceding Michael Frayn's Copenhagen - audiences are likely to be just as conflicted, confused and incandescent as they were back when the Back Bay Theater Company (with the American Repertory Theater) opened it in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1992.

The premise of the three-act play, which runs for 80 minutes with no interval, is deceptively simple. Carol, an insecure and angry undergraduate student, visits her smug and overbearing lecturer John in his office to discuss difficulties she's having with his course.

In a deftly woven production, a series of misunderstandings and missteps occur during their exchanges, leading to a taut battle of the sexes and visceral display of the powerful over the powerless.

Audience members with varying perspectives will certainly have plenty to talk about on the way home after the actors take their bows. When John (played by an excellent shape-shifting Jonathan Slinger) puts his hand on Carol's arm, is it a gesture of reassurance or a form of sexual harassment?

Meanwhile, Carol (in a multi-layered performance by Rosie Sheehy) makes her claims in a letter to the tenure committee, which is deciding whether to give John a promotion. Is Carol right to condemn John for calling his wife "baby", or is this an example of self-righteous political correctness?

And does the climax shock everyone? Some might feel (spoiler alert) John was right to lose his patience and attack an intransigent Carol (fight director Philip d'Orleans deserves recognition for fantastic choreography here). In contrast, others remain firmly in Carol's unflinching camp, where she shows no mercy when John's dismissed from his job and his life's ruined.

Director Lucy Bailey blocks the production superbly, allowing John to mansplain on the edge of Carol's desk and too near her on a white sofa that feels somehow besmirched by his presence. She also subtly exposes John's dishevelled disintegration set against Carol's growing confidence.

Set and costume designer Alex Eales augments the claustrophobic atmosphere with a soulless, utilitarian office, with clever touches like a gigantic old-school computer taking up a big chunk of the desk, and John's books and diplomas displayed unashamedly.

Eales's costumes paying tribute to John's bad taste in plaid shirts and grey cardigans, and Carol's conversion from a slouchy jumper and baggy jeans to a tight-fitting dress and heels also hit the mark.

Oliver Fenwick's lighting design conveys natural rays of sunshine from the window alongside harsh, neon lighting, allowing us perhaps a glimpse of some hope from the alarming events that unfold.

Holding the play in the Ustinov studio, rather than in the main house, was an inspired decision, inviting the audience to feel closer to the two characters stuck in such a confined room. The downside is that due to COVID safety regulations, not as many people can fit into the smaller space, leading to fewer seeing this first-rate production.

My male companion weighs up the significance of Theatre Royal Bath's Oleanna today, compared to when he first saw The Royal Court Theatre production in 1993: "What John does was indefensible back then, and it is even more alarming and less defensible now," he says.

While my view has moderated from being a staunch defender of the female protagonist, to one where I feel sympathy for Carol and John - both unable to be heard in a world of safe spaces where there's no room for argument.

Oleanna at Theatre Royal Bath until 16 January

Photo credit: Nobby Clark

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