Throughout his careful revealing of Paul’s contradictory, complex layers of behavior he remains outwardly steady. His convincing ease makes flesh of Guare’s ideas. Even though he arrives in a state - he has supposedly been mugged and knifed outside their apartment building - Abili has a low-voiced, honed energy that rivets attention, making the unlikely character seem entirely plausible as he weaves his way into their instant affection. The coolest customer, appropriately enough, is Obi Abili as the imposter, Paul. Yet for both the initial satire and Ouisa’s eventual transformation to have weight, she needs to start out far more relaxed in her own environment. Sheathed in a wrap dress, with immaculate heels and hair, Manville stalks confidently about the almost empty space but rarely seems at home in her own home. The result is over-bright and abrasive, and the strain shows. In an attempt to warm up the height and width of the stage space accentuated by the design, they punch up the tart, knowing banter between them. But from the start, the rhythms between Manville and Head feel askew.

Chic Manhattan liberal Ouisa ( Lesley Manville), married to major art-dealer Flan (Anthony Head), addresses the audience directly with the entire set-up of not just the play and their privileged life but the fact she and Flan are attempting to get a fat loan from a white South African millionaire without him noticing.Īs a result, the atmosphere of the introductory scenes is rightly edgy.

Six degrees of separation play review