Blessed Union, Belvoir Street Theatre, 11 Feb-11 Mar

 

Every generation has to learn on their own that sometimes there's no avoiding the emotional consequences of your actions. Even those who have grown up seemingly enlightened, post-tradition, in a world where their relationship seems to have its own rules can find the ugly side of heartbreak rearing its head even as they try to keep the separation rational and structured. 

Maeve Marsden's lesbian divorce comedy is set in a familiar theatrical milieu - two parents, two kids, talking about their feelings in a nicely designed kitchen over an array of various meals - but with a less conventional family at the centre of it. The play largely becomes a great vehicle for Maude Davey as the mum who disintegrates faster, building to a panicked climax near the end of act one and then a great set-piece monologue about etymology in act two. Danielle Cormack's character's out-of-the-house work as a morally compromised union organiser provides some interesting angles about the moral compramises that come with trying to redirect the mainstream, but it's never really brought back into the house to become more than an intellectually interesting character background. As the two kids, Emma Diaz is the more emotional one as the older sibling, while Jasper Lee-Lindsay is the more brattish one happy to troll both parents easily.

Director Hannah Goodwin gives the production good pace, on Isabel Hudson's stylish set. This is not quite a perfect play but it's an interesting angle on the foibles of the modern middle class relationship comedy, and the launch of Davey makes it worth the watch.