An interesting social commentary in search of a story

Last year, a number of West End plays revolved around groups of people sitting down for a chat. When done right, as with Infinite Life at the National Theatre, the audience is treated to a wonderfully intimate, important piece. But it’s a fine line between exploring authentic lived experience through conversation, and ending up trapped in endless chit-chat.

Two Rounds attempts to sidestep this, focusing each of its acts on a different group of women separated by 30 years: four friends who get together every week to play cards in the 60s, and their daughters reunited by a funeral in the ‘90s. Unfortunately, this is more interesting conceptually than in execution, with Two Rounds committing a cardinal sin in the arts: it’s a bit boring.

Although billed as a comedy, the show is more accurately a rumination on the place women occupy in the world, and how this shifts over time. Oscar nominee Cristina Comencini’s script readily draws parallels between the more liberated women in the second act and their stifled mothers in the first, taking in themes of family, feeling trapped, love, and female emancipation.

These comparisons feel a little on-the-nose at times, however, with the play’s political statement – women remain trapped by similar things even if society appears to have moved on – taking centre stage at the expense of a compelling narrative. Every conversation seems to come back to husbands (or lovers) and children, and whilst this may be a commentary on the position women frequently occupy on the sidelines of their own lives, it makes the characters feel much less textured than they first appear.

The script’s portrayal of female friendship is a strength: our groups bicker and tease, but also support one another through painful moments both literal and figurative. The cast ably portray these longtime relationships, spitting insults and stroking arms with equal fervour. But the reality is that many of these emotional interactions feel like character-building waiting for an inciting incident that never comes.

Another key feature is Evelien Van Camp’s set design and costumes, which are excellent. The backdrop of a house-frame flooded with black-and-white family holiday photographs builds a sense of intimacy. Adept costume and make-up transform the cast from 1960s parents into 1990s daughters, retaining just a hint of familial resemblance whilst evoking their own era (complete with 90s polyphonic ringtone).
The 30 years separating each group mirrors the leap to the present day, inviting the audience to question how much has really changed. In holding up a mirror to modern society, Two Rounds makes some interesting points about the burdens and joys of family; the fragility of love; and the pressure mothers face to give up their jobs. But this doesn’t sustain the two hour run-time, rendering Two Rounds a worthwhile social commentary that’s just a little dull.