Lynn Nottage’s passionate play, transferring to the West End after a sold-out run at the Donmar Warehouse, is a vision of a society in steep decline. Set in America’s Rust Belt, it pictures the ruin of a community that was once proudly prosperous — and zeroes in on the desperation caused by poverty.
Based on interviews with citizens of Reading, a town in Pennsylvania, it’s a portrait of a circle of friends whose sense of self is shaped by their work, and who are crushed by the effects of a “de-industrial revolution”. As their bosses bring in automation and cheap migrant labour, their notions of job security turn to dust, as does their dignity.
Most of the action takes place in 2000, in a bar frequented by employees of the local steel tube factory. They go there to blow off steam. But the TV flickers with images of George W Bush and economic doom, and when straight-talking Cynthia (a superb Clare Perkins) is promoted to management the group’s bonds start to fray.
Soon resentment and bigotry fester. As Leanne Best’s Jessie drinks herself into oblivion, her friend Tracey (a thrillingly volatile Martha Plimpton) greets her fate with a ferocious cynicism. Others find uglier survival strategies — none more so than Tracey’s son Jason (Patrick Gibson).
Nottage’s writing is highly charged. It can feel too nakedly explicit, with characters who resemble pundits setting out arguments that are like case studies.
But Lynette Linton’s production is sharply focused, attuned to the play’s moments of unnerving humour, the harrowing force of its tense second half and the deep seriousness of its politics.
Until July 20
