Two by Two

Two By Two

Audience responses: 

"It seemed a bit long for a production that only lasted 60 minutes. - Mark 

"There was a lot of passion between the actors – it was very tense!" - Stephen 

"I enjoyed it – it felt raw and real." - Donna

A dark, apocalyptic story set in a world where fast-rising floodwaters have occasioned the construction of an ark to save (at least some of) the human race. 

Jack and Carl, a married couple, sit in their apartment and debate how to garner a spot on the ship and, in so doing, salvation. When a woman who happens to be a patient of Carl’s turns up with a baby she’s ‘found’, the three work together to discuss the best way to get to the boat. 

It’s hard to miss the (very) thinly-veiled metaphor that is boarding the ark as acceptance of homosexuality in society. At one point, Jack sums it up too nicely for us: “We’re glitches – we live on the very edges but we’ll never get in”. 

To their credit, Carl (Gary Abrahams) and Jack (Paul Blenheim) do exhibit a fair amount of chemistry and a natural connection on stage. 

But when Duckie (Zahra Newman) enters about 20 minutes into the production, the proceedings seem to drag a bit, due perhaps more to the slow pace of plot advancement and the apparent repetition in the dialogue than to any fault on the actress’ part. 

A sparse set and minimal haunting sound help to create a milieu of despair though, and the play does achieve a certain intensity that calls to mind favourably Genet’s Deathwatch and Sartre’s No Exit.