A busy market street off Edgware Road leads to one of London’s hidden fringe gems, The Cockpit Theatre, which this week played host to Alex Summer Milne’s play Dumping, presented as a work-in-progress.
It’s a two-hander about the ending of a friendship between two women who have grown apart over the years and is presented through a few conversations between them.
Alana (Amelia O’Loughlin) seems to have it all, a good job and a family with children. However, her manner is one of bitterness and frustration, quickly showing the cracks in this ‘perfect’ front.
Meanwhile, Bea (Mollie Semple) is needy, vegan, and into meditation, while her partner prefers to travel the world rather than settling down with her. She is the type of friend who is exhausting to be with whether or not she has her heart in the right place.
In seeking a ‘divorce’ (a ‘breakup’ sounds like they are 12, a ‘separation’ isn’t quite right) from Alana’s friendship, Bea sets out to explain herself but only highlights both their shortcomings and how even when a chasm is developing, a really close bond can never truly be broken.
Dumping is currently 105 minutes including an interval, so in effect a 90 minute play that could benefit from a little bit of trimming here and there or less time spent on scene changes.
There isn’t a set other than two chairs and a table, and a few well-placed sound effects to anchor us in various locations. A sense of playfulness and shorthand that only comes from close friend or sibling relationship is well-conveyed through moments like an off-key karaoke or sharing a cigarette or nachos.
Milne also directs this thoughtful and perceptive play that captures the diverging paths open to women in their 30s. Alana and Bea are both absolutely entitled to their opinion, and they feel very like people I have met in the past.
I found it interesting that the ‘earth mother’ type was not the one you might expect, and I found myself liking aspects of both of them.
The play may work slightly more effectively in a smaller space as it stands, as the action occasionally felt a little lost in the large round space at The Cockpit, while audibility was an issue now and then.
Dumping is a play that thrives on intimacy and immediacy rather than distance, and with that barrier removed, presented as a one-act piece, I feel it could be even more powerful.
As it is, this is a piece that I enjoyed and found reflective and poignant while keeping a light touch.
Dumping has finished its three-performance run at The Cockpit but follow the play’s Instagram for more information.
4 stars.
Image credit: Lidia Crisafulli