Break-ups are never easy. Directed and produced by Isabelle Tyner, FACE is a play about the ending of a loving relationship and what happens as they have to move on. We follow Mike (Morgan Beale) and Evie's (Grace Bassett) relationship - awkward dates, buying a house, trying to start a family, and then bumping into each other years later. As the years have gone by, we see them question whether they made a mistake separating, or if their past feelings are being brought back by nostalgia.
In the opening scene, Mike and Evie meet for the first time and we are introduced to the start of their relationship, the awkwardness of the characters, and the potential of what could move forward in their story. There is humour laced in each interaction that we see, as the characters stumble through their first date, to then choosing the colour of the spare room in their first house. The play is sharply well-written by Cameron Corcoran to make the past and present flow into each other in this storyline, and the plot remains intriguing; will they or won't they end up back together?
Beale and Bassett both interpret other characters too, such as Mike's sister, Mike's boss, and potential love interests. There are layers to this play with scenes of dates, and events that take place in both Evie and Mike's new lives. Both actors are funny and engaging and perform their characters excellently; tension is built with the smallest of exasperations and pauses in the dialogue.
The set is just two tables, two chairs, two cups, and a blanket - all of which shift as the scenes change. The use of the yellow blanket is an interesting choice from the director, in the sense of the way it is moved around to be a picnic blanket in the house, to a tablecloth, to a yellow train line, and later for a baby's blanket. These subtle choices of props and set movement help the flow of the story and enable us to imagine multiple backdrops. Sound designer Richard Warren also does a great job with appropriate music for the scene changes.
There could have been more scenes about the start of Evie and Mike's relationship and more depth of the characters in these opening scenes, with even some potential soliloquy added. However, FACE is still an engaging, humorous, entertaining play that has been well-crafted and well-directed for this small theatre venue.
Review: Cara-Louise Scott-Lapish