Review: RED SPEEDO, Orange Tree Theatre
Photo credit: Johan Persson
Red Speedo is a play of firsts; this is its UK premiere, half the cast are making their professional stage debut and most excitingly, this is the first time that we have seen a swimming pool on stage!
With just a week to go before the Paris Olympics, Red Speedo could not be more topical. Our lead Ray (Finn Cole), wearer of the titular ‘Red Speedos’, is a competitive swimmer within touching distance of international success and the corporate deals that can come with it. The night before his Olympic qualification, performance enhancing drugs are discovered in the club’s refrigerator. Ambition clashes with morality as Ray, his coach (Fraser James) and his brother (Ciarán Owens), who is also his manager and lawyer, have differing ideas about what to do. The tension continues to rise when Ray’s ex-girlfriend (Parker Lapaine) becomes involves in this world where the real crime is getting caught.
There has been a recent trend of sport-related theatre and Red Speedo is a wonderful addition. Other productions have primarily told true stories, whereas Lucas Hnath’s fictional work has given him the space to really dive in (no pun intended) to the psyche of athletes and those closest to them. Although Red Speedo also feels as if it could be a real case study as the characters are so complex and the twists and turns so compelling. The realism is supported by dark humour which adds another layer to what could be a serious and relentless production.
Director Matthew Dunster and Hnath have utilised the intimate space of the Orange Tree Theatre to create an intense environment filled with a deeply brash and bold American energy that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Anna Fleischle and Sally Ferguson’s set and lighting design respectively have created a truly immersive space. The whole auditorium has been painted to look like the tiles of a swimming pool and a pane of glass suspended above the stage reflects dappled light all around. The pool itself is the perfect size to fit Cole’s chiselled frame; research tells us he has been on a diet and training regime to prepare for the role. However, the in-the-round nature of the Orange Tree Theatre reveals some limitations to the pool. At times, the action feels static as the actors have to move around it and one feels that for the space it takes on stage, the pool could have been used more.
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. At first look, Ray, swimmer and baby carrot enthusiast, is charming and moronic in equal measure but as the façade begins to fall, his charisma is revealed to be hiding something darker. He is, however, not quite so calculating as his brother Peter who is almost prepared to let his brother die instead of killing his own career. Ciarán Owens’ performance is brazen and bolshy and there is something incredibly satisfying about the almost Donald Trump-esque way he delivers Hnath’s monologues. Fraser James’ quietly confident coach and Parker Lapaine’s desperately manipulative Lydia complete the cast, and both are essential to this thrilling exploration of the pressures of success and how it manifests.
Red Speedo is a fast and furious look into the murky waters of competitive swimming, perfect viewing for sport and theatre fans alike.
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: Sophie Luck
Red Speedo plays at the Orange Tree Theatre until 10 August, with further info here.
