THEATRE REVIEW: Victory Collision ★★★

Victory Collision

Royal Court, London

Saturday 14th October 2017

A Man (Jonjo O’Neill) and Woman (Sharon Duncan-Brewster) return from what is apparent to be a holiday; they go about unpacking a suitcase and shopping bag, undress into comfier clothing, and interact with each other, but not vocally. They talk, just not to each other, but towards the audience. Victory Collision from playwright Chris Thorpe is a story of two, as both performers tell tales are so far apart from each other, so much that as an audience member I found myself to be confused and unfocused on what they were trying to convey, and I wasn’t the only who felt this as the mutterings after the show seemed to be apparent.

This is not to say though that this production is bad in any means, more the contrary as we are sucked into the world that they seem to present of stage, which is a beautifully designed flat from Chloe Lamford that is so realistic, especially given the one-person shooter game which O’Neill’s character plays in real time during the performance so much that we feel so engaged watching!

Both performers give a realistic vision into their hypothetical relationship that even though their is no speech directly between them, it feels like a genuine partnership due to the actions they are constantly undertaking throughout, from O’Neill’s character embedding himself into Duncan-Brewster’s character or sharing a tablet whilst looking at what is presumably news. It’s also an intriguing prospect considering the words spoken between the two that these and the actions are miles apart from each other. From O’Neill’s tale of an alien invasion vs health concerns from Duncan-Brewster’s, it's completely opposite when we examine how close the two performers are on stage.

Overall, on first watch of this production, I have found myself leaving the auditorium very confused by the words spoken, but due to the Royal Court’s vision of releasing playtexts for only £3 for their productions, a read on this instance might be more vital to delve into the world a little more deeply!