There’s a great story by Dostoevsky about a state official who arrives uninvited at an employee’s wedding party, with disastrous results. That came to mind while watching this powerful, deeply moving play by Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti that deals with class, race, money and marriage and which shows how the presence of an unexpected guest can lead to the unravelling of a whole set of relationships.
Bhatti’s focus is on a working-class couple called Gary and Nicky. He is black, she is white and they have a loving marriage, three children and an array of friends. But when Victoria, Gary’s boss, turns up at a birthday party at their council flat, she gets wildly drunk and makes racially offensive remarks. Gary is justifiably incensed, and Victoria’s subsequent apology, just after he has had a crucial interview at work for internal promotion, does nothing to appease his fury: something that has huge consequences for himself and his family.
These are only the bare bones of a play that combines a portrait of a marriage with a picture of a society. What is especially heartening is Bhatti’s ability to convey the complexity of all her characters, except possibly Victoria. Gary’s anger has a touch of arrogance, Nicky’s well-meaning intervention on his behalf backfires, and even a British Pakistani couple, who are among their closest friends, allow their aspirations for their son to manipulate the system.
But at the core of Michael Buffong’s excellent production lies a study of a marriage that is vividly realised by its two actors. You believe in them totally as a couple, but Richie Campbell shows how Gary’s self-realisation comes at a heavy cost and Claire-Louise Cordwell captures perfectly Nicky’s grit, determination and increasing isolation. There is strong support from Thomas Coombes as Gary’s ultimately opportunist best mate and from Petra Letang as Gary’s hilariously outspoken sister, Karen, who at one point tells him: “I’m practically the only black person you know!”
This is the Royal Court at its best, giving us an uncompromisingly honest account of multicultural modern Britain.
At the Royal Court, London, until 18 January.
