Adam (Lee Knight) and Eve (Jeannie Dickinson) fall in love at first sight. They get married, they buy a house and they are expecting their first baby. It seems that nothing could go wrong.

Eve is an estate agent and Adam is a teacher, and he is challenged by Nikki (Melissa Parker), a student with a very difficult behaviour that Adam tries to help.

Once allegations are made, Adam and Eve's perfect world will not be so perfect anymore.

The beginning of the play is light hearted, you can see the love story between Adam and Eve developing, but it seems too good to be true and you start guessing what will happen next. The dialogues (about houses, mortgages, cost of life) are very authentic and they give that touch of normality that soon will disappear.

 

The acting is convincing. One moment we believe in Adam, the next one we think he has done something wrong and this uncertainty (just until the very end) is the secret of this brilliant play. We see the impact of the allegations on the emotional wellbeing of the characters and we also think how frightening is that anyone can be badly judged by anything in their lives if looked through a critical lens.

Just a couple of points: from the seat I picked (at the corner) I saw the back of the actors for most of the play, so I wish they could have used the space more dynamically.

Also, for many aspects, topics and turns, Adam & Eve reminded me of "Alligators" that was at Hampstead Theatre just one year ago.

 

Still, Adam & Eve is a gripping portrayal of the power of allegation to destroy people's professional and family life, and how easy ut is for us to judge.