Hang, theatre review: an hour that packs a punch at the Royal Court Downstairs

Over 60 minutes of staccato poetry, Debbie Tucker Green covers more than most other writers could manage in double that, says Fiona Mountford
Unnamed: playwright Debbie Tucker Green skillfully twists our sympathies for three anonymous characters
Press Image
Fiona Mountford23 June 2015

Debbie Tucker Green is not a playwright to waste words, or time. In one hour of a production, which she directs herself, she covers more than most other writers could manage in double that plus an interval: the inadequacy of language in the face of terrible human suffering, for example, as well as the moral ambivalence of the criminal justice system.

What’s astonishing is how such a stark 60 minutes of staccato poetry (“Is your development even relevant?”) can provoke such fluctuations in our sympathies for three unnamed characters.

One (Claire Rushbrook) and Two (Shane Zaza) work in some kind of victim support unit; Tucker Green has no time to waste filling in such trifling details and her ruthlessness with the text is thrillingly clinical. Three (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) and her family have been the victims of a horrific yet unspecified crime and she has come to give her verdict on how the perpetrator should be punished.

The sudden suggestion of a dystopian near-future in which all manner of capital punishment is available pushes awkwardly at our now established emotional empathy.

Rushbrook, all wounded dignity, and Zaza make fine work of a pair of professionals whose off-the-peg training can’t begin to make sense of the situation at hand.

Latest theatre reviews

1/50

Ever more uselessly, they assure Three that they know how she feels. Jean-Baptiste, who clutches at her handbag like a lifebuoy, is magisterial: wounded and internal and then angry and lashing out. She’s not the likeable victim of too much television drama, but a damaged human being.

The static buzzing of office equipment and strip lighting provides the suitably unsettling sonic backdrop to this entirely absorbing drama.

Until July 18 (020 7565 5000, royalcourttheatre.com)

Follow Going Out on Facebook and on Twitter @ESgoingout

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in