Review: THE CONSTITUENT, The Old Vic

Cast and creatives of Joe Penhall's new play, The Constituent, must have had mixed feelings when Rishi Sunak called a General Election for 4 July. I suspect many people will already have had enough of listening to the pat responses of prospective MPs to media questions. However, politics will always have dramatic interest and Matthew Warchus' production focuses on a single back-bench MP trying to balance help and professional distance with her increasingly unstable constituent.

Monica employs Alec, with whom she went to school, to fit some security cameras in her office. Alec is an Afghanistan veteran who is locked in a battle with his ex-wife regarding access to his children. After reminising about primary school, Alec appeals to Monica for help with his legal problems as he struggles with his mental health. This sparks a series of events that prove distructive for both characters as Monica attempts to do the right thing while Alec falls apart.

The production sees the return of James Corden to the West End for the first time in 12 years after leaving to perform in One Man, Two Guvnors on Broadway. It would have been easy for him to take on another cheeky chappy role, but he embraces this much darker character. As Alec, Corden pours his heart into the role; his rapid delivery reveals an intelligent and intense man who aspired to boring normality, but found himself at the mercy of both his mental health and, what he sees, as the victimisation of men in the legal system.

Anna Maxwell Martin is predictably excellent as Monica; calm but increasingly harried, as she tries to balance her young family with her laudable quest for public service. She wants to do good, but is not a saint either; making several errors of judgement.

The pair have excellent chemistry and their shifting relationship is very believable. Maxwell Martin shows body language that gradually shifts as she becomes more worried about Alec's behaviour. In turn, Corden instinctively reacts to these changes; becoming louder, more physical and jittery.

As a two-hander, this production is at its most powerful. The addition of parliamentary protection officer Mellor adds little more than David Brent-style commentary to the situation. Zachary Hart commits to the role, but is left with the rather one-dimensional attitude that the only future is one where MPs wear stab vests.  

The play premieres at a time when public trust in MPs is at all-time low, but Penhall's script is not a polemic and brings out the humanity in the characters: Monica has empathy and sympathy in her role. She makes time for Alec and feels her responsibility as a public servant accutely, despite the potential dangers lurking in wings. Alec has served his country, but now feels lonely, abandoned and unwanted.

In this way, the play is more than a simple tale of good versus bad; it is a non-partisan and poignant of depiction of a broken system, where individuals can so easily get lost. Monica deals with the quotidian issues of sacked lollypop ladies and supermarket planning, knowing that her power to action real change is incredibly limited. Alec appeals to her as someone he believes can help him; both are disappointed.

Rob Howell's simple set has the audience on both sides, cleverly integrating red, yellow and blue. There is nowhere for the actors to hide and we feel the exposure of Monica in her constituency office. Warchus keeps the pace going through the 90-minute production, even if a few scene changes feel a little long.

For a myriad of perfectly valid reasons, it is easy to demonise politicians and their motives today. But after the murders of Jo Cox and Sir David Amess, along with reports of the abuse and death threats many MPs receive on a daily basis, this production is a timely reminder of the fact that some MPs literally put their lives on the line to do a job that many feel is a duty and a privilege. 

The Constituent is at The Old Vic until 10 August

Photo Credit: Manuel Harlan, courtesy of The Old Vic