Fourplay[author-post-rating] (2/5)

The opening of Jane Bodie’s Fourplay is dangerously close to Tom Stoppard’s The Real Thing (I’m not a fan). It has all the exclusive introspection of the 1982 play, as Tom and Alice rehearse a scene from an upcoming show in which the former is to star. They discuss whether or not the play is “fresh” or asking anything new about love, as Bodie clearly intends us to consider the rest of the play in relation to this argument. And though its a well-acted production of a well-crafted text, it often commits far too much navel-gazing to be engaging.

Tom and Alice – who have been together for a while – are currently going through a rough patch as he rehearses the play with the attractive Natasha. As Alice’s suspicions are confirmed and they become romantically involved, she is slowly falling into some kind of relationship her co-worker Jack as they see each other whilst crossing over shifts in a care home. Three relationships thus spring from one, as Bodie suggests humans are unable to be faithful and that there is no such thing as ‘casual’ sex.

The script is well written with a few good gags (director Ian Dunn has a knack for bringing out comedy), but the motives for these characters feel a little underdeveloped. Natasha (played by Róisín Diamond) seems only ever to want to have sex with Tom, and Alice (Chelsea Gilroy) to be loved. The meta-theatricality of the piece also loses steam early on and the point it makes about art imitating life is a little laboured.

There’s little that is formally interesting about Fourplay, but the accomplished dialogue is delivered with aplomb by capable actors. Diamond and Gilroy are – as suggested by Alice’s paranoia – pretty much opposites of one another, and pull Tom in two completely different directions. Alan McKenzie, as the object of their affections, has the most interesting character to play with, as we see his confusions played out in a performance which shows decent range. Martyn Forbes plays Jack as an odd young man, and is kind of fascinating to watch.

Saying a play is a bit too much like something written by Stoppard may sound like a compliment, but to me it feels like the work said writer did in his prime has been exhausted and that theatre has moved on leaps and bounds. I don’t deny Fourplay is a solid piece of work, but it doesn’t attempt to do anything new, with its fairly pedestrian presentation of four people having relationship difficulties taking on a tone which feels clichéd in 2013.

Fourplay is at theSpace on the Mile until 23 August. For more information and tickets visit the Edinburgh Fringe website.