Review of Frank 4 Sophie 4 Eva at 53two, Manchester.
Frank wants sex, Sophie doesn’t. Their marriage is on the rocks, and we’re introduced to them as they arrive for their first session with a relationship therapist. Even though they are both in their 40s, they squabble childishly, and any hope of finding a middle ground seems slim.
Ian Watson’s new play Frank 4 Sophie 4 Eva is a two-hander with Alexandra Maxwell and Simon Naylor in the title roles. It’s also a game of two halves.
Leaning heavily on comedy in its first act, it explicitly lays out the mess of their relationship and is peppered with bitter barbs of recrimination. As they pick over Frank’s attachment to porn on his laptop, or why Sophie no longer wants to sleep with him, the jokes come thick and fast.
In fairness, the pre-publicity promises “90s sit-com comedy”, so it seems churlish to feel ungrateful when it over delivers – especially when there are plenty in the audience more than happy to generate a boisterous laughter soundtrack.
At times, the sweaty bombardment of funnies featuring haemorrhoids, Desperate MILFs, genitalia, farts and “skidmarks like a king-size Twix” threaten to overwhelm the play’s underlying themes – and the production’s tone can feel erratic. The ingredients are all there, the proportions just feel out of balance – and the uproarious first half is enjoying itself so much, it fails to effectively telegraph that a more subtle second act awaits.
Fortunately, Simon Naylor and Alexandra Maxwell’s solid, well-thought-through performances steady things – creating a thread to navigate by.
Frank is all nervous energy, the life and soul – yet Naylor skilfully allows glimpses of his underlying vulnerability, the people-pleasing and hurt feelings behind the bluster and bad jokes.
Maxwell is capable of the most extraordinary performances, and it’s to Manchester theatre’s shame that we don’t see more of her – here she effortlessly inhabits Sophie’s contradictory nature and carefully constructed façade. Legs crossed and arms folded, she is contained and held in – yet can also unleash cool, calculated cruelty. As Naylor’s Frank almost explodes with relief on hearing she has never cheated on him, Maxwell’s Sophie slips in a “not yet” like a sharp knife to his side.
Frank 4 Sophie 4 Eva is most definitely a play with its heart in the right place, even if its potty mouth can run away with itself. In among the crowded belly laughs, it concisely and thoughtfully explores issues such as masculine stereotypes, mental health, and the nature of consent.
George Miller’s inspired jazz-inflected sound design bookends each scene, and after the scattered almost discordant intro to the opening, it evolves into a quickening heartbeat during the more episodic second half.
A chance encounter in a bar, several years after that therapy session, sees Watson’s characters indulging in less of a performance – no longer trapped in a cycle of misunderstanding, the defensive humour evaporates, and their masks slip.
And while the play’s pace picks up, director Kate Colgrave-Pope creates well-placed moments of noticeable silence – space for reflection. All the more poignant after the relentless tit-for-tat of the first half.
Revelations that might be bombshells in other plays, are gently brought into the light here, and land more effectively as a result. Maxwell and Naylor keep things intimate and understated, creating moments of disarming tenderness as Sophie and Frank re-evaluate their relationship, and come to a deeper understanding.
Performance seen on 31 October 2024.
Frank 4 Sophie 4 Eva runs at 53two from 30 October to 8 November 2024.
Images by Shay Rowan.
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