Towards the climax of Katherine Chandler’s Thick As Thieves, a two-hander set mostly in an office, a document is printed onstage by an inkjet printer. It is a lovely moment – a note of unquestionable material truth. The machine whirrs into action, almost anti-theatrical in its functional ordinariness.
Threaded through the play, however, is the suggestion that truth is more conditional. Two women, raised together in care, meet again after many years; their shared past seems inescapable, despite their best efforts.
To outline the intricate narrative risks spoiling its careful construction, but Gail (Polly Frame) desperately needs something from Karen (Siwan Morris), which Karen is unable or unwilling to give. Performing in the round on a square stage, the pair circle each other tensely, both simultaneously predator and prey. These are compelling, deeply committed performances, with Morris in particular mining small moments of nuance, in contrast with Gail’s more coarsely written contours. It is staged with fluidity by Róisín McBrinn, and Alyson Cummins’ smart design contains some neat scenographic tricks.
Chandler and her collaborators create a persuasive theatrical world, which affirms that invisible acts of compassion can reverberate beyond our own hermetic existences. The play goes to some dark and harrowing places, and here I had some niggling doubts about the dramatic setup. The successful trajectory of Karen’s second career, for example, seems implausible considering how the first one ended. With dramatic reality in doubt, references to violence and abuse appear somewhat incongruous and melodramatic.
Thick As Thieves contains moments of real emotion, but I wish I could have believed just a little more in its functional ordinariness.
• At Theatr Clwyd, Mold, until 27 October
