The Swell at Orange Tree Theatre

There has to be a very good reason for me to miss an Orange Tree production and no such reason existed for The Swell, indeed the opposite was true as this was a new play (I like new plays) which promised "a gripping story spanning decades of love, sacrifice and betrayal.".

That was more than enough to tempt me to fork out £26 for a seat in the front row.

Entering the auditorium the raised stage made a striking impact. During the play some holes were opened, and closed, in the stage to suggest different settings to allow the players to sit.

I like the way that worked but it was a shame that the stage was raised in the first place as that made viewing from the front row a little awkward at times, as the photo hints.

The Swell was a love triangle set then and now with three actors playing the young women and anther three the older ones. There was no attempt to physically match the young and older actresses but that did not disturb the play in any way.

The story starts with two young women very much together then a very bouncy friend returns from distant lands and inadvertently throws a few spanners in the works, Decades later we see how things turns out. There is a massive twist there which I certainly did not see coming and that was the point of the play.

Or rather, the twist lets the play tackle an unexpected situation and ask some not very simple questions about trust and loving.

Most of the dialogue skimmed over me, that is I cannot remember any of it now, which may look as though the play lacked something but it did plenty to keep me engaged for ninety minutes.

The Swell was a perfectly fine play delivered in a compelling way. A good enough result for any night at the theatre.