It
surprising to realise that it’s already been two years since Paul Miller began his tenure as Artistic Director of the Orange Tree. With a mixture of revivals
and new writing that’s encompassed everything from sterling Shaws
(Widowers’ Houses, The Philanderer) to hipster-friendly
hype-fests (Alistair MacDowall's Pomona) unforgettably powerful dramas (Chris
Urch’s The Rolling Stone) to possibly the most delightful
French Without Tears ever, Miller’s
programming has showed continuity with his predecessor Sam Walters’s while also
branching out in some new directions, especially through an emphasis on
co-productions.
Time,
continuity and change, are among the concerns of the play – a premiere – which
opens Miller’s third year as OT Artistic Director. Commissioned by Old Vic New
Voices, and co-produced with Farnham Maltings, Zoe Cooper’s Jess and Joe Forever centres on two young people as they grow up, spanning several summers in
Norfolk, that take our protagonists from ages 9 to 15. Jess is a tubby little
girl who, neglected by her parents, holidays in the village with her au pair,
while Norfolk-born Joe helps on his father’s farm. As the two gradually edge
into friendship, a portrait emerges of two outsiders challenged with making
their way in the world against the sometimes harsh judgements of the community.
With its
rural setting, a running time of just an hour and ten minutes, and its intimate
focus on two characters, Jess and Joe Forever is a modest work but it’s one whose themes
run deeper than many pushier, ostensibly more “ambitious” plays. The premise may suggest the low-key
naturalism of Robert Holman (whose German Skerries was
revived at the Orange Tree earlier this year) but what makes the play
distinctive is its structure and narrative approach. Jess and Joe
Forever mobilises narration and audience address to become a play that’s very
much about the construction of a story, as Jess and Joe take us through their
impressions and experiences, and, sometimes, debate how best to present those
shared memories.
Rather like
Jess, who earnestly declares herself a vegetarian while eagerly consuming a
scotch egg, it’s an odd combination of archness and innocence that Cooper
achieves here. Initially the archness seems to be winning out in Derek Bond’s
production and James Perkins’s spare design, with its representative small pile
of sand, and two microphones through which the protagonists speak when they
morph into (their versions of) other characters.
But while
the self-consciousness about storytelling has some drawbacks (resulting in some
sketchy characterisations and underdramatised moments), it becomes more
beguiling as the evening progresses, adding up to a mischievous (yet mature) spirit of play
that feels appropriate for a work concerned with imagination, transition and
transformation. One particular surprise reveal will be the play’s main talking
point but what’s admirable is the scrupulous way in which Cooper avoids an
“issue-led” approach to the material, opting instead for a more quirky,
personal and poetic perspective. Her dialogue is lively and characterful, with
great attention to detail that sparks the characters to life.
Bond’s production
succeeds in keeping the transitions fluid, with great help from Sally
Ferguson’s lighting and from Nicola Coughlan and Rhys Isaac-Jones’s terrific
performances, which make the evening a beautifully textured duet. Coughlan is particularly
adorable, as she reveals the neediness and vulnerability underpinning Jess’s
penchant for showing off. Quietly subversive, not without pain, Jess
and Joe Forever truly earns its final joyous flourish. It’s a lovely, loving work that makes you
eager to see what Cooper will do next.
Jess
and Joe Forever is booking at the Orange Tree until 8 October. The production then tours until November. Further
information here.
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