The plot
From the moment you step into the theatre (our experience takes place at the Park Theatre at Finsbury Park), Skin Tight heightens the senses. The strong scent of burning incense immediately fills your nostrils, while your eyes slowly adjust to the low-lit stage. And then it begins...
The tale of Elizabeth and Tom begins with a fight; with punching, scratching, kissing and outbursts of passionate tears. It's clear these are two people who are brimming with fiery, heart-wrenching love for each other. Over the course of the next hour, we watch as they reminisce over their experiences together; memories of their first date and intimacy unravelling into a huge ocean of emotion.
The actors, Angela Bull and Jon Schumacher, are youthful and full of energy, but they talk of their experiences with exhaustion, fondness and bitterness. As their feelings, darkest secrets and deepest fears are thrown open into the room, we have to wonder what we really know about this couple.
Verdict
The production of this Gary Henderson play is immeasurably beautiful. Director Jemma Gross brilliantly captures the emotions ricocheting around the room in those 60 minutes.
However, trying to recreate this heavily turbulent relationship in such a condensed time-frame does make it hard to follow the background to these characters. For example, it's hard to picture where the play is physically set, and I couldn't quite decipher at what point in their lives Elizabeth and Tom actually are. A guess based on Elizabeth's loose-fitting floral frock and Tom's heart-breaking recollection of his days at war suggest they are older than they look.
But we do feel every ounce of his nightmare, we cry with Elizabeth when she recalls her friends losing loved ones, we question who 'Kitty' is as Elizabeth describes a unfortunate fall out. We feel every thud of the fist when the pair fight and ever stroke of the hair as they comfort each other. This rawness is a huge credit to Bull and Schumacher - who successfully manage to hold the stage with such intensity, by themselves.
Of course, all our questions are answered in the end. We just suggest bringing tissues.
Find out more about Skin Tight at www.epsilonproductions.co.uk
