Coffee Break takes us on a wild journey where everything and nothing makes sense.
What did I just watch?
Yes, that is the expected and intentional feeling that Coffee Break, the production running at the The Hen & Chickens Bar as part of the Camden Fringe, is supposed to leave behind. Its premise is as follows: two friends are stuck in a room somewhere, waiting for something. Yet Bruce Kitchener’s debut as writer and director is lukewarm.
During the 50-minute show, the character dynamics of Lu (Emily Beach) and Jo (Ezra Dobson) are explored meticulously, serving more as a character study than a traditional act-driven narrative. When it works, it feels like a tender and funny examination of friendship and how important it is to have someone by your side when life treats you unkindly. When it doesn’t, we can’t wait to get out, similar to what the constant conflict entails.
The main problem is the confusing script.
The actors do everything in their power to bring life to these scenes. Ezra and Emily have palpable chemistry, which rings truest when they’re having a hilarious banter about cancelling bikes and cats. And every time Kat Kitchener showed up onstage, playing multiple characters, they stole the show, bringing an additional sense of madness and drama to each scenario.
However, in unison the play feels like an anxious ride of meaningless meandering and confusion. Questions are thrown from the beginning but never properly resolved, and only really addressed in the last third of the show.
What we get instead is a series of comedy sketches, tied up by the concept of waiting around, with some glimpses of emotional truth here and there. In each of them, we get different scenarios, a scoop into Jo’s imagination running wild, speculating where are they waiting and what are they waiting for. The guessing game goes from an escape room where everything you see is a clue, to a room in the middle of space where you can spot comedians in the distance, a hospital and a police office. One of the highlights of said dynamics is the one where they get to watch a classic movie together, where both Lu and Jo react in ludicrous ways and we get a deeper understanding into their friendship.
Overall, though, Coffee Break is greedy, unsatisfactory and full of fluff. Neither the performances nor the funny moments can save this play from feeling like a pointless mess.