Two directors and two actors walk into a room… it sounds like the beginning of a joke, but it’s actually the set up for John Logan’s Double Feature, currently playing at Hampstead Theatre. And whereas a joke would be funny (ideally, at least), Double Feature is a serious look at the dynamics between said directors (Alfred Hitchcock and Michael Reeves) and actors (Tippi Hedren and Vincent Price).

The idea is a clever one – we have two sets of people: Hitch (Ian McNeice) and Hedren (Joanna Vanderham) in one story and Reeves (Rowan Polonski) and Price (Jonathan Hyde) in another, acting out a rehearsal scene for the movies they happen to be working on (Marnie and The Witchfinder General respectively), and although they’re all on stage at the same time, they’re not there together. The two pairs never acknowledge one another, and the stories play out separately, intertwining at times without any of the characters knowing it.

Sounds complicated, doesn’t it? The fact is, the conceit does work at times, and it works very nicely – when all four characters are sitting at the same kitchen table eating two separate meals and having a conversation that they all take part in, even if they’re in different places at different times, it’s a clever way to show the differences in the relationships, for example. However, at times, it just feels as though it is being too clever for its own good, the conceit just there as a gimmick rather than being a useful plot device or having any real meaning. Which is the main issue we had with Double Feature.

It could have been an interesting way to show two different sides to a problem, and we feel that’s what the aim is – a director and an actor with creative and personal issues between them each trying to come up with a way of working together – but because there are no stakes here (we know that Vincent Price went on to complete The Witchfinder General, the film he’s threatening to walk off after arguing with Reeves, and we know that Alfred Hitchcock never did make Mary Rose, the film he dangled over Tippi Hedren’s head as he demanded she go to bed with him or he would ruin her career), none of it really matters. There’s no character development and not much of a story. It’s a character study, and that’s not quite enough to sustain the 95-minute run time.

Of the two stories, it was the Hitchcock/Hedren element that holds our attention the most. It shows the darker side of the famous director, but it also shows Tippi Hedren to be a strong and capable woman, able to stand up to the bullying and predatory Hitchcock. Joanna Vanderham’s performance is exceptional, and she certainly stands out, pulling focus at all times when she is on the stage. Despite valiant efforts by Hyde and Polonski, we found ourselves wanting to get back to the other storyline as quickly as possible, and we wonder if focusing on just one of the stories and making a play out of that might have worked better; there would certainly have been more time to get to know each character (as it stands, the audience does have to have at least a working knowledge of who everyone is and their filmographies).

Despite an impressive set by Anthony Ward and excellent lighting by Hugh Vanstone, along with some great choices by director Jonathan Kent, the story and characters in Double Feature just aren’t enough to make it shine.

** Two stars

Reviewed by: Lisamarie Lamb

Double Feature plays at Hampstead Theatre until 16 March, with further information here.