‘A Rude Awokening has heart, but seems confused about what is at its core.’
A Rude Awokening, premiering at the White Bear Theatre, is a show that exists in two parts – (two living rooms, to be more precise.) Written and produced by Vaughan Evans and directed by Harry Saks, the play that has a heart and a life to it, as we follow social worker Elaine (played by Karen McCaffrey), Richard (Jonny Hosking) and unhappily married couple Val (Emma Riches) and Steve (Ty Nicholls), as their relationships interweave, and their worlds (and worldviews) collide. And yet despite this collusion, A Rude Awokening seems confused about what is at its core, rendering the piece to be split (ironically) into two different plays.
In one play, we have the human stories, and in the other, we have a world of talking heads discussing politics. Within the first, we follow Val, a vulnerable, working-class mother-of-two who is physically, mentally, and financially trapped in a relationship with Steve, a brutish man capable of extreme violence and abuse. The strong performances of Nicholls and Riches captivated the audience – holding us in a space of fear and unpredictability that is similar, perhaps, to the anxiety and mental anguish Val experiences whenever her husband comes home. Nicholls’ physical embodiment of Steve was particularly effecting, commanding the space with nothing but a chilling whisper. Steve’s character felt the most real and three dimensional of the four, while Val’s character feels underdeveloped.
It is a little unclear what the play is trying to say through her character – it felt like an interesting. albeit rather limited, depiction of a woman trying to survive. Moreover, Val notably expresses an interest in politics only when she begins a sexual relationship with PHD qualified Richard and is significantly hypersexualised throughout. She is a team mascot for Steve’s dart team, she is seemingly wanted predominantly by the men around her for sex, and even ‘woke’ PHD Richard, (which I have decided to name him as it is really the only notable thing about his character) when she questions him, literally says to her ‘well…your top was quite revealing…’
Val’s character feels too caricature-like to carry through an insightful exploration into misogyny, and therefore feels a little tasteless at times, despite Evan’s attempt to emancipate her at the end.
It felt as though the ‘rude awokening’ was directed at the audience as we watch the ‘second’ play. Elaine and PHD Richard (between whom, significantly, there is a generational gap) discuss topics such as JK Rowling and her views on the trans community, as well as the tearing down of statues of historical slave-owners. It was certainly interesting that these discussions were expressed in a theatrical setting; it seems like a good way to hold a mirror up to the opposing opinions people hold in society.
However, the idea that people are either seen as ‘woke’ or ‘anti woke’ – and that it is implausible that there will be any reconciliation between the two – suggests (again, ironically!) that we exist exclusively within these limiting binaries. We, the audience, felt that we were expected to ‘pick a side’ on issues that, of course, have many complexities, and did not feel sufficiently explored. We were also ‘told’ rather than shown for a hefty portion of the show, which felt limiting.
Moreover, the play never allows for a variety of voices – notably the voices of the demographics who are discussed – to come into the conversation, which could have made room for a deeper and more rounded discussion. At times it felt that we were being fed statistics through in-human dialogue when discussing human issues.
All in all, A Rude Awokening, while attempting to depict both sides, clearly leans towards an anti-woke culture in a way that feels underdeveloped. Many interesting themes and narratives are introduced – Elain’s bisexuality, Richard’s transgender ex partner, Steve’s past, Val’s past; the breakdown of Elaine’s marriage, sex as a power dynamic, the manipulation and the morality and ethics of the characters – there is a lot going on, and unfortunately at times it feels as though we barely scratched the surface.
REVIEWER: Ella Rowdon