We take a look at what critics are saying about the UK premiere of Lucas Hnath’s play, running at the Richmond based theatre until the 10th August.
WhatsOnStage: *** “Matthew Dunster’s production of this sardonic sports thriller is spikily staged and performed in-the-round at the Orange Tree Theatre, with a real pool (a sleek set design by Anna Fleischle) and the smell of chlorine on stage.”
The Stage: *** “Lucas Hnath’s adrenalin-soaked play about a doping swimmer sticks to shallow waters.”
The Guardian: *** “Nevertheless, Matthew Dunster’s production is well acted across the board. “Things wash over you,” Lydia tells Ray, and Cole has the right unreadable blankness as a young man who is not as bright as his character’s name suggests. Played at 90 minutes without an interval, it stings like chlorine but I’d have appreciated some extra laps with these characters.”
All That Dazzles: **** “Just a week away from the opening of the Olympics, and with recent reports of doping in swimming, this piece is just as timely as its first outing ten years ago. It delves deep into the slipperiness of professional sport, morality, and the cost of winning. Cole leads a wonderful cast in a piece that will leave you pondering questions of morality and fairness long after you leave the theatre, or indeed, the pool.”
Theatre & Tonic: **** “The real undeniable success story of the production is its design team, with scenery designed and constructed by Anna Fleischle, Cat Fuller, and Anita Gander and lighting by Sally Ferguson. The intimate Orange Tree Theatre is transformed into a club pool with such immersive, evocative care that you can almost smell the chlorine. The addition of an actual, inset pool is particularly impressive and stands as an omnipresent opportunity and danger throughout the play. Ferguson’s brilliant lensing of light through uneven glass panelling makes the relatively small stage feel wide and deep, the blue-green refractions giving an otherwise bare set an unbelievable sense of movement and vibrance.”
West End Best Friend: **** “Finn Cole, of Peaky Blinders fame, has announced himself as an excellent stage actor. Cole rises to the challenge of the piece, bringing endearing youth and nuance to the role.”
The Telegraph: **** “Lucas Hnath’s play dives into the murky world of performance-enhancing drugs and entertainingly grapples with the tough questions.”
The Arts Desk: **** “The production zips along under the direction of Matthew Dunster, punctuated with the strident klaxon blasts used to start races at swim meets, signalling a new round in the hostilities between the brothers. It’s not a moralistic drama, more a sardonic commentary on the unsportsmanlike conduct of the sports industry; and it packs enough of an intellectual punch to send you home pondering the price of being a winner.”
Broadway World: ** “Despite some good performances and a wonderful set, the downfall of the production lays in the writing itself.”
The Reviews Hub: *** 1/2 “The cast, Finn Cole as the swimmer, Ciáran Owens as his agent/ brother, Fraser James as the coach, and Parker Lapaine as the ex, all do a fine job with the limited range that Hnath allows them. They all do speed rather than subtlety, and any nuanced character development is kicked firmly to the kerb. Matthew Dunster stages the conversations effectively, though the necessity to put the water-filled trench far to one side of the Orange Tree’s in-the-round playing space gives sightline problems for a quarter of the audience.”
British Theatre Guide: “Red Speedo’s allegory for the pressures of self-advancement in the modern world is, however, watertight, and only made stronger by rock-solid direction from Matthew Dunster and an all-star team. The play is a safe bet for a stellar evening.”
To book tickets visit: https://orangetreetheatre.co.uk/whats-on/red-speedo/