Daniel Chaves writes and stars in this new ‘dramatic comedy’, Kindliness, which finished its run as part of the Voila Festival yesterday.
Malcolm (Chaves) is an architect in an unnamed land, divided by war and water. When we first meet him, he’s hard at work planning a new project to bring the two sides together, literally building a bridge between them.
His partner, Mimmi (Lucy Kean), is bubbly, fussing, doting. But that’s not the whole story, as we discover there’s also a wife, Amara (Fia Houston-Hamilton), and son, Little Thing (Victoria Chen) at home.
Kindliness is about prejudice, trust, survival, family, conflict, idealism, identity, and humanity. It’s a complex piece. I didn’t find it particularly comic, rather cruelly so if at all.
Amara and Mimmi share more than Malcolm, both having a nurturing and caring instinct, but Mimmi (notably played by a pale-skinned actress) is an immigrant and dehumanised as such.
Kindliness has some strong moments, but its tonal shifts do tend to jar. Malcolm goes from cheater (with something of a fetish for ‘those people’) to violent abuser, meaning I (at least) rooted for his story to end as it eventually did.
It’s a large performance, perhaps too vicious and loud for such a small stage and venue.
In contrast, Chen’s little boy is pitched perfectly, capturing the curiosity and excitement of childhood, while the women in the piece find an uneasy bond as matters take a sudden downturn.
Kean’s Mimmi, dealing with the feeling of being an outsider all her life, is the character that evolves the most, and the one we leave the theatre rooting for.
Houston-Hamilton brings a calm steel to Amara, with a deep core of mistrust inside. She is the glue that holds her family close, with the determination to do what’s best.
Director Jenny Eastop allows the play to evolve through its many twists and turns and utilises a set (by Jasmine Kint) of crates plus a table and chairs, plus a set of building bricks, to create its world.
Kindliness is a good play that raises many issues about humanity. It just needs room for the comic elements to breathe.
***
Image credit: Ryan Woodcock
Barons Court Theatre has now secured its future and has new permanent risers plus temporary chairs (very comfy retro armchairs).
Do go and support them!