Sympathy Pains review, Park Theatre Studio

Somewhere in Rosalind Adler's new play, Sympathy Pains, is the germ of a good story. It's the tale of a long and comfortably discontented marriage where the wife, Chris, is the successful but reluctant breadwinner. When husband, Guy, announces he's pregnant, his distended stomach becomes the manifestation of everything wrong with their arrangement. While Chris builds the bed to which she'll be tied as the submissive female during role play, he's reading baby mags.

Belly up

Adler herself plays Chris, a woman on the verge of both sixty, and a nervous breakdown. Perhaps while writing she imagined herself in the role, and this may have coloured her decision to take it on, but it's a mistake. Being on stage has denied her the opportunity to step back from the work and test its strengths and weaknesses. That isn't to say you can't do both. Last week, I saw a poignant and funny short, The Man Who Lost His Mind, in which the writer, Matthew Crowley, successfully took the lead, but it was a different type of play, richly charactered with a surreal storyline that was offset by a moody setting - the cellar of the White Rabbit, Stoke Newington. Sympathy Pains is a two hander, so holes are instantly visible, and the space doesn't help.

There are too many unnecessary asides to the audience and a reliance on sit-com conventions - rolling eyes and open mouths - to create mood. At the end of fifty minutes, all we know is that women are as confused by gender stereotyping as men, and that ultimately all they really want is to don a pinny and have babies. The truth of this assertion is immaterial, but it is a stereotype, and drama comes from challenging or reframing convention, rather than reinforcing it.

In conclusion: The Park Theatre is a hip and happening venue and the studio space is lovely, but it's tall and dark and the use of children's furniture on the set emphasises that. As a result,  a cheery piece that should be quite light and fun - Crispin Letts is amusing as Guy -  gets a little bit lost in an all-consuming darkness.

References
Park Theatre, Tickets


The Park Theatre,  Clifton Terrace, Finsbury Park, London N4 3JP   Run ends September 22