The Same Deep Water As Me

Stepping into the auditorium of the Donmar Warehouse is a bit like stepping into a hectic office. The space is so intimate that you feel like taking a step backwards and apologising for intruding. The space is as daunting for the audience as it must be for the actors (and probably a little distressing if one has come to watch the play straight after a busy day in an office!); there is nowhere to hide, no room for mistakes. In fact, the openness of the space invites honesty which is ironic because very little is present in the plot.

The Same Deep Water As Me sees down-on-his-luck Andrew Eagleman (Daniel Mays) and his superior, honest old-timer Barry (Nigel Lindsay) running Scorpion Claims, a personal injury firm. An unexpected visit from Andrew’s old school-friend Kevin (Marc Wootton) leads the solicitors into no-win no-fee territory. It soon emerges that not only is Kevin’s own car crash claim fishy, but also he plans to orchestrate a number of fictitious claims. Kevin dresses up his scams as the little man’s moral crusade against bully boy corporations who neglect Joe Public, but behind this paper thin facade is a monetary greed. For Andrew, however, money isn’t necessarily his motivating factor. As he desperately tries to keep a lid on his personal life, the idea of embarking on a battle that he potentially stands a chance of winning becomes increasingly attractive.

What lies at the heart of the narrative is essentially the desperation that leads people to lie and the desperate efforts it takes to maintain said lies. However, what leads to the success of the play is writer Nick Payne’s encapsulation of human nature. From witty one-liners (at one point Barry claims to be sweating “like a dyslexic on Countdown“) to his handling of everyday patter between colleagues (reoccurring references to Greggs add a touch of realism and comedy) Payne creates a sense of familiarity and warmth between audience and character.

Payne has an intelligent grasp of natural dialogue; in a lesser playwright’s hands the potty mouth of Kevin would seem contrived but Payne’s talent renders this dialogue effortless, thus it retains its humour. Of course in performance such writing can only be brought to justice by its deliverer; the dialogue might be the engine on which the play is running but it is the excellent performances which drive the play. In this case, the physical comedy of Wootton softens the blow of Kevin’s uncouth language. The comical juxtaposition of his elevated Del Boy-esque mannerisms (including the outstretch of a pinky finger as he sips some flavoured tea) with evidently well-researched dialogue relaying the logistics of a staged car accident, makes his plan comically warped rather than solely wrong.

However, although the majority of Payne’s play is clearly well-researched and genuinely funny, several poignant relationships remain significantly underdeveloped. The mottos  “keep the lie going on for as long as possible” and “don’t ask, don’t tell” seemingly applies to the world outside personal injury fraud, too. The skilful acting of Mays enables the heavy personal weight that his character bears to softly bubble under the surface but the few lines that could potentially inform his reasons for embarking on this fraudulent adventure remain neglected. The characters also allude to a personal history between Andrew and Kevin’s wife but that too is skeletal. Consequently, we miss out on the bittersweet comedy talents of Niky Wardley. Wardley brings a warmth to the nervous disposition of her character; her refusal to swear on the Bible she is so guilt-ridden is sweetly sincere but sadly underdeveloped.

The lack of explanations is frustrating and so is the play’s weak ending which borders on cliché: a monologue that flashes back to the past and  a fight which is comical but potentially for the wrong reasons (the trace of a smirk on Mays’s face indicated that he knew the same) lessens the quality of Payne’s writing.

Payne initially embodied the right balance of curiosity and suspense, comedy and intellect but by the end it was bordering on lingering and tenuous. The weak character relationships and the hurried closure of the narrative means that much like the claimants within the play, the theatre goer may leave wishing for some compensation.

The Same Deep Water As Me is playing at the Donmar Warehouse until 28 September 2013.  For more information and tickets, see the Donmar Warehouse website.