The party's over but is it the Beginning for this couple?
- ann-evans
- Sep 25
- 3 min read
Beginning by David Eldridge at The Loft Theatre, Leamington Spa from 24 September to 4 October. Directed by Viki Betts.
Review by Ann Evans
You might liken Beginning by David Eldridge to Marmite, you’ll either like it or you won’t. I think it’s one of those plays that splits the audience. You’ll either find it funny and appealing, or it will leave you flat. Certainly, my companion at The Loft Theatre and I came out of the show with very differing opinions.
Beginning is the first play in a trilogy about love and relationships, the next plays being Middle and End. In Beginning we meet 40-something year old Danny (Chris Gilbey-Smith) being the last straggler at Laura’s flat after a party, Laura is played by Cheryl Laverick. He’s finishing his drink and she’s eager to persuade him to spend the night with her.
As Laura does her best to entice Danny into her arms, he’s doing all he can to steer the conversation away from matters of the heart - or other parts of the body, finding himself more comfortable talking about scotch eggs and sausage rolls. They struggle to make conversation and in between long awkward silences, we learn over the 1 hour 40-minute one act play that Danny has been married, had an affair causing his marriage to break-up and now he doesn’t see his 7-year-old daughter, which breaks his heart. He’s back living with his mum and sees his 90-year-old gran more often than he goes dating. Which is admittedly, lovely for his gran.
Not surprisingly Danny gets the impression that Laura makes a habit of sleeping with men she barely knows, which might have something to do with his reluctance to fall for her charms. But they continue to talk, endure more awkward silences, drink wine, clean up the messy flat and dance – great ‘dad’ dancing from Danny, it has to be said, which brings out another more fun and confident side to his character not seen at other times.
The acting throughout by Chris Gilbey-Smith and Cheryl Laverick is very good, they seem word perfect and there are lots of humorous moments enjoyed by the audience, as well as the intended awkwardness by the characters towards each other. Long sections where no one speaks is a brave thing to do. And well done the team who created the excellent set. A word of warning to the more sensitive – there’s strong language at times which might offend some people.
Eventually, Laura tells Danny the truth behind her desire to get him into bed. She’s desperate for a baby – and he’d got a kind face. With such a solid base for parenthood! And bearing in mind Danny already has a child he never sees, you might think that Laura does not get what she’s hoping for. But after winning him over with a fish finger sandwich, (cooked on stage in real time) they were suddenly ripping each other’s clothes off. It looked more awkward than passionate, and I think a lot of people breathed a sigh of relief when the lights went out.
So, like Marmite, you will either like this play or you won't. If nothing else, the content will encourage debate. And if you’re wondering if I’m a Marmite fan – unfortunately not.
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