By Max Boag
It feels so nice to stay secure and stable, until you realise you’re missing out on just how interesting life can be, even the parts that scare you.
The Roommate at the Ensemble Theatre is a dark comedy focusing on the dynamic between Sharon (Lucy Bell) and Robyn (Belinda Bromilow). The push and pull between rule followers and rule breakers is not uncharted territory in media, but I find that The Roommate has its own twist on the stereotype, being that both characters in this two-hander are fifty years old, and empty-nesters (in one way or another). It’s so interesting to see the common ground that two people of opposing walks of life have, and to these two, it's their shared tense relationship with their kids, and their want for connection and understanding.
The set is almost entirely naturalistic, which really makes one feel as though they are a fly on the wall of this house in the Iowan suburbs. The lighting and sound follow suit for the most part, with the exception of the transitions between scenes, with an example being a change in ambient and backlit window lighting from day to night, so one really feels as if they are immersed fully into the world created by the show running team. Costumes, makeup, props and the actor’s ease (or lack thereof when new to the space) all help sell this set and play as a snippet of the lives of both of these characters. While it may seem like the more abstract sounds and lighting for transitions may take audiences out of this suspended disbelief, I found it was used quite tastefully, and one scene bled into the next without a major removal of tension or energy.
A ninety-five minute one-act might seem like a big ask on paper, but the show does fly by. Even though the entire thing is set in the kitchen of Sharon’s house, the tension feels more and more palpable throughout the show, and the payoff at the end feels incredibly well-earned, which may have been diminished by a shorter run time. The performances by Bell and Bromilow further this tension masterfully. Set in Iowa, a dialect coach was necessary, but the accents feel natural for both of the characters, and never drew me away from the performances. The rule-following Sharon feels ripped straight out of a ninety’s sitcom, in the best way possible, which made her arc within the story all the more intriguing as she strays from the stereotype we perceive her to be at the start. Bromilow’s Robyn likewise evolves from her own seeming stereotype of a Bronx-based, vegan lesbian throughout the course of the play, and where we presume the play ends is flipped entirely on its head, all for the better.
The stellar performances from the cast, excellent direction, and deceptively complex source-material makes for an incredibly unique performance that, I have the pleasure of saying, left me speechless more than once. The twists feel shocking but earned, and not once did I think that anything done by these characters was against their base, or unrealistic.
The roommate leaves you with incredibly complex feelings about how people can change your life so quickly, and so permanently, for better or for worse. But one thing it won’t do is leave you disappointed. Get your tickets now for this thought-provoking, funny, and incredibly interesting piece of theatre, running at the Ensemble Theatre until the 25th of July.