The Shape of Things by Neil LaBute
Ustinov Studio, Theatre Royal Bath
Directed by Emma Earle
Costumes Designed by Becky Vowles
Set Designed by Julia Marshall-Wessendorf
This is Somerset Review
The Shape Of Things Ustinov Studio, Bath 8/10
"THERE may be little or nothing in any way jokey about Neil LaBute's arty drama but it delivers a punch line of which any stand-up comic would be proud.Delivered in an outstanding solo presentation by one of the play's two main characters the revelation speech makes you question all you have seen in the first two thirds of the play and ask yourself "why did I not see that coming".You may, of course, have seen the 2003 film, starring Paul Rudd and Rachel Weisz, which LaBute himself directed but if not then its outcome will surely surprise and disturb you.American students Adam and Evelyn meet in an art gallery. He is shy, nerdish and cute she spiky, colourful, radical and about to deface a sculpture which he is supposed to protect as a part-time security guard.Unlikely as it may seem this Adam and Eve embark on an initially heaven-sent relationship in which she transforms both his physical appearance and builds his inner confidence – much to the surprise and suspicion of his few friends.Such intense interplay between the principals demands strong performances and it gets them from Greg Shewring and Jade Berks. His transformation from duckling to swan is expertly tackled and her increasingly questionable manipulation of her lover is cleverly cloaked. Alice Sparey and Charlie Field complete the cast as concerned college colleagues with problems of their own."
