BWW Reviews: THE SAME DEEP WATER AS ME,The Donmar Warehouse, August 6 2013

The Donmar's done it again. Nick Payne's new play, The Same Deep Water As Me, is highly relevant, dealing with unpleasant contemporary realities - yet leaves you with an overwhelming sense of hilarity. Beautifully performed and directed throughout, this is a wonderful production.

The story tells of a slightly failing legal firm and their fairly typical "no win, no fee" guarantee. When presented with questionable claim, solicitor Andrew Eagleman mulls over the ethics involved: a drop in the financial ocean for a large, faceless corporation, or the end of his and Barry Paterson's business - a working family, struggling to weather the recession, or a conniving man sees how he can make some quick cash. What follows is tense, eagle-eyed and a joy to watch.

While on the very oddest of occasions, Payne's jokes seem slightly stilted, the script is generally hysterically funny. Niky Wardley in particular shines as Jennifer; her comic timing is exquisite and she has a real knack for making Payne's more bizarre, quirky lines roll from the tongue. Her presence is always rather endearing. Nigel Lindsay gives a beautifully controlled performance and his work with Daniel Mays is of particular note. Similarly, Mays gives an energetic, highly realistic and three-dimensional performance and Marc Wootton excels as Kevin Needleman, presenting a volatile, disturbing - and again, very believable - character. Isabella Laughland was absolutely superb.

John Crowley's direction throughout was excellent; it is hard to imagine much more being gained from Payne's script, especially the more simple moments of dialogue. Crowley and Payne have really transformed the potentially mundane into comedy gold.

Scott Pask and Lisa Buckley did an unusually meticulous job when dressing the office set - the result is a highly authentic, just-tidy-enough office.

This kind of care and attention to detail is something I'm coming to associate with the Donmar Warehouse's diverse performance space. Whatever their programme features, it is done whole-heartedly and to the highest standard. All in all, this is a fantastic production and has my sincere recommendation.

The Same Deep Water As Me will run at the Donmar Warehouse until September 28 and contains language unsuitable for minors.

To post a comment, you must register and login.