A startling debut play by Robert Wolfe brings the dark side of the Swingin’ 60s to Kentish Town as Sweetheart opens at the Lion and Unicorn Theatre.
The scene is set before the actors enter with a period soundtrack. Music is important throughout with a curated set of songs offering insight and mood (The Zombies, Jefferson Airplane).
At first, I thought I’d made a mistake as the Moors Murders were mentioned on the radio – I don’t engage with that content as I’m from the area, and it’s too close to home. But it was scene setting and colour only.
Sweetheart is about a young couple, Honey (played by Wolfe) and Sweetheart (Becky Dueck). They invite people into their home but are far from welcoming to these strangers.
It’s an unsettling story that feels ‘off’ from the start. A play that uses repetition, bursts of violence on-stage and off, and is centred by the duo who dominate the story.
When Tom (Samuel Oakes) comes to stay, life becomes far more complicated as we see a different side of Sweetheart – and there I will stop to avoid spoilers.
This is a taut and accomplished debut. A story in extremely bad taste that is hard to watch but equally hard to ignore. As the play unfolds over 75 minutes, the line between reality and something else is blurred.
Sweetheart has a story I thought may end another way, but the ending did surprise me. Influences are cited in the programme from A Clockwork Orange to American Psycho and The Collector. A chilling brew.
Dueck offers a compelling portrait of a woman caught in her own web, nervous, needy, and neurotic. Wolfe’s Honey is a coiled spring, terse, tense, and turbulent. Oakes offers a calm respite to the harshness of the couple’s dynamic.
The sound design, with snippets of radio shows and news, is excellent (although the music over the opening monologue is a little loud). The use of props, including a rug, teddy bear, and rotary phone, is effective.
Sweetheart is a deeply engaging debut. It keeps its secrets for as long as it can and keeps them well. Sophie Kettle-Smith’s direction keeps the pace moving and allows the audience to feel involved in the action.
I’m giving this 4.5*.
You can see Sweetheart at Lion and Unicorn Theatre until 14 Jun – details here.
Image credit: Samuel Oakes