Here we are in the apocalypse. Jass and Finn are the last people on Earth and are spending their days eating out of tins from the aisles of supermarkets and acting out their favourite films in empty cinemas. But as Jass starts to realise she’s falling out of love with Finn, she has to decide if she can bring herself to end things with her last living option.
A folky musical score composed by Tim Gilvin brings all the high points in this otherwise stagnant two-hander. Guitar in hand, Elijah Ferreira accompanies most of the numbers while Jade Johnson whistles out her airy high notes with ease. Collectively, their voices blend sweetly, bringing real enchantment to the delicate song Our World.
The problem is a lack of depth. This could have been an opportunity to really explore the wrongs of our planet and grapple with what we may need to survive a worldly disaster. The climate crisis barely features; there is only one rushed reference to the Earth’s rising temperature. Instead, we’re left with an awkward script written by Imogen Palmer that falls into the pattern of covering the same ground with too much mundane discussion of food shopping. Oafish dialogue holds back the couple’s relationship from becoming something heartfelt. There are one too many jokes about the world ending. The writing is in need of a pump of personality.
Cramped together on the Seven Dials Playhouse stage, the two actors do their utmost to animate the drama, which has an overwhelming sense of inactivity. Directed by Georgie Rankcom, they tip-toe across an overstuffed set of shopping trolleys, plastic bags and a jumble of junk. More than once, they almost lose their balance and it becomes distracting, preventing us from buying into the continued monotony.
The show certainly has some flashes of promise and works best in some glorious moments when the pair come together in song. Maybe, it is better placed as a concert. But, as it stands, this annihilation of humankind looks bleak – and for the wrong reasons.
At Seven Dials Playhouse, London, until 15 October.
