Review: HAEMOSPORIDIAN, Lyric Hammersmith

If you search the definition of “haemosporidian” online, the internet will give you a lot of obscure scientific terminology bunched up together. From our understanding, it’s to do with parasite infestations - a brilliant analogy for gentrification. This homonymous piece, written by Sam Purkis and co-created alongside Ryan Stevens and Wilf Walsworth, headlines this year’s Evolution Festival at the Lyric Hammersmith, a line-up designed to spotlight emerging creatives and original material.

Haemosporidian is a critique of the destructive force of new developments clad in dark tragicomedy. Callum and Henry live in less than perfect conditions, but they’re happy and care deeply for each other. Among the mould stains and thin walls of their estate, they feel at home. When a demolition notice arrives in the shape of an evil toff, they’re forced out of their unlikely idyll.

A dash of This Is England, a pinch of Brassic, and a gram of Ken Loach coexist in a one-act play that seeks to be a lot of things at once directed with confident ease by Emily Aboud. The writer has a knack for a snappy one-liner, usually delivered with flair by Purkis or Walsworth, but the text takes sudden turns that are way too didactic for the context. Bite-sized philosophy and moments of pure wit sit side by side with overachieving tangents permeated by an on-the-nose issue-led-theatre vibe.

While the political discourse only skims the top of the problem and the show is verbose for its exceeding running time, it’s not void of good intent. It contributes to the conversation surrounding landed gentry and their penchant for being greedy and uncaring landlords, the housing crisis, it even has a hint of NHS wrapped up with working class friendship and childhood trauma. It’s a throw-everything-at-the-wall-to-see-what-sticks situation.

Between unrealistic speech patterns, the trio share the same tone of voice, no matter the inflection of their cadence. Still, we have a pair of strong performances in Purkis and Walsworth, who impress easily over rocky foundations. Outright awful, Walsworth owns the predictable villainisation of his character by being deliciously sleazy. His Benjamin preys on the unmasked insecurities of young Harry (Ryan Stevens) with steady patronising and petulance. At the other end of the field, Purkis is a salt-of-the-earth, protective, highly intelligent electrician. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and the narrative unfolds with a smooth foreshadowing and a timely, typical use of a variation of “Chekhov’s gun”.

Through all the downsides of the production, the set and sound design are a remarkable feat of creativity. Kayodeine crafts a soundscape that slots the action into place flawlessly. Dogs bark and cars go by not too far away from Emilia Mendez’s leafy space. Vertical blinds, yellowed and dotted with mould, tower above two levels of wooden floors and greenery. It hints to a long forgotten communion with nature as well as the loss of decency and human values.

Ultimately, the play perhaps tries to accommodate one too many storylines to appease an array of demands. The political and the personal complement one another while the dramatic bleakness of the comic side is intriguing, but the team are too eager to make a point to truly explore the intricacies of the plot. It’s a slow start, but Haemosporidian has the potential be so much more.

Haemosporidian runs at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre as part of Evolution Festival until 28 March.

Photo credit: Genevieve Girling

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