Bea (Jade Anouka), a phlebotomist, falls head over heels in love with Aaron (Rory Fleck Byrne) and the pair bond over poetry and pineapple juice. They live in a world, not far in the future, where scientific advances mean that a simple blood test can predict whether and when you will develop diseases. Even whether you have a propensity towards rule-breaking. You don’t have to find out your rating, but nondisclosure looks as if you have something to hide.
Dating sites are all about ratings, but Bea and Aaron are in love, and the outlook looks bright. It’s when Bea’s friend Char (Cherrelle Skeete) asks her for help in faking her own blood test that the future starts to get rather murkier.
Ella Road’s debut play is a racy dystopian thriller that is part Black Mirror and part Brave New World. It comes very neatly packaged in a production by Sam Yates that elicits terrific performances, particularly from Anouka as a woman who wants a sure return on her emotional investments, but discovers real love is unconditional.
It’s intercut with video sequences, including news reports and adverts, which not only flesh out the reality of the world, but become increasingly chilling as the consequences of knowing your rating creates new laws and business opportunities.
As is often the case with first plays, there is a wee bit too much signalling in long speeches, but this is a gripping piece with some gasp-worthy moments using both head and heart to ask what it is we really value and why.
- At Hampstead Downstairs, London, until 19 May. Box office: 020-7722 9301.
