Richard and Sheryl are an interracial couple participating in a series of ‘bedroom interviews’ via webcam. The main focus is on their relationship, and there is the possibility that the interviews may result not only in a mention in print articles, but also publication in a book about the subject. The pair are keen to dive right into their own marriage from the get-go, but after a while the interviews cause various underlying problems to surface and wreak havoc on their cosy relationship.

Don’t Smoke In Bed raises lots of interesting arguments throughout the play, most notably about social perceptions of race and gender. It is at its most successful when the characters are getting down to the heart of a particular taboo issue, whether it be differing cultural perceptions towards women or unspoken attitudes concerning white privilege. It is satisfying to hear two people attempt to hash out some of the darkest points of social conflict that arise in contemporary society today.

The problem is that the characters serve predominantly as voice pieces for these issues. This poses a problem for establishing any coherent characterisation beyond the typical tropes of male and female characters that we have seen on stage countless times before. It makes it more difficult for us to identify and empathise with the characters’ struggles come the end of the piece. The playwright, Aurin Squire, is also a renowned journalist and there is no shortage of well-articulated arguments and fascinating insights through the various monologues and stories. What suffers, however, is the authenticity of the characters, especially when very often lines are being delivered seemingly for the purpose of completing witty turns of phrase rather than being rooted in the action of the story.

Clare Latham and Greg Lockett lend superlative accent work to their roles, but apart from being hampered by the lack of vivid characterisation in the writing, they themselves fail to make their performances connect with the audience on several occasions. The main issue is the lack of moment-to-moment interactions taking place during dialogue – each actor seems to be waiting for the next opportunity to speak rather than truly listening to the other actor on stage with them. It is no surprise that their performances are much stronger in their monologues. The combination of these flaws in the writing and the acting manifest in a series of interesting pastiches of moments of discussion, laughter and argument between the actors. Yet they do indeed remain merely as pastiches, rather than fully-fledged performances that we can connect to moment-to-moment.

Emily May Sions’s set is brilliantly realised, getting the most out of the intimacy of the venue whilst still creating the feeling of space in the bedroom. The levels created with the bed, the floor and the platforms provide different vantage points for the married couple during arguments. The lighting is soft and subtle, shifting from a comfortable hue to something more ominous without you even realising. This goes hand in hand with Chris Drohan’s excellent sound design, complete with relaxing reggae and more disturbing, distortion effects. It means that the audience members always feel an underlying sense of foreboding under the cosiness of the married couple’s bedroom, which serves as a perfect metaphor for the whole relationship.

Despite aforementioned flaws and reliance in the plotting on yet another cheating husband (who never gets any of the sympathy that the piece tries to elicit from us), Don’t Smoke In Bed makes important points about how uncomfortable we still are with openly discussing race, gender and domestic violence. In this respect, Squire and his team certainly deserve praise and it is easy to see why the play was chosen for programming now. Now is the time when society’s underlying attitudes towards these issues demand to be brought out in the open and thoroughly examined.

Don’t Smoke in Bed is playing at the Finborough Theatre until 22 March. For more information and tickets, see the Finborough Theatre website.