Herding Cats – Role Play

British flatmates Justine (Sophie Melville) and Michael (Jassa Ahluwalia) lead very different lives but get on really well. She’s high strung, nattering on about her job and irritating new boss Nigel who seems to do nothing all day while she works. “…you get this thick hide of fucking smugness…it’s like flicking peas at an elephant.” Michael’s fairly quiet, though he responds to and supports her. Never out of his pajamas and sweats, he works at home as a sex call recipient manifesting clients’ fantasies. She accepts but can’t imagine his job.

Lights flash, the stage darkens. Michael wears headphones. On screen at the back is his regular American client, “Saddo” (Greg Germann) – this time in a car. Michael assumes his character voice. It will startle you. Saddo has received an envelope from England. Very slowly role play changes direction – without forgetting to process a credit card. Meanwhile Justine describes her relationship with Nigel as “herding cats” (a futile attempt to control or organize entities which are inherently uncontrollable) He triggers, but also interests her.

Call #2 from Saddo – from his kitchen, takes us deeper into a world inhabited by two (a third player is never present). Dialogue is theatrical, not shudder-worthy. Both actors are immersed in the script within the script. There’s compelling intensity to the exchange which feels at least as emotional as physical. We know what’s going on, but see next to nothing. At a pre-holiday dinner, Michael verbally sketches a few of his regulars for Justine, but won’t talk about Saddo whom we see in the background. She’s going home to family, he expects to be working overtime.

Justine builds a potential relationship with Nigel in her mind. As many men in senior positions, he feels entitled to flirt. Her responses are unguarded. She’s beginning to invest. Much to Michael’s surprise, Saddo hasn’t telephoned over Christmas. Despite what he declares about not getting involved, he too has invested and does something to force a call. This conversation is fascinating. Both outside connections reach different water levels.

Use of a screen in this transatlantic production works wonderfully – even during curtain call. Video is well scaled, well shot and apt, making Saddo large, shadowy and somewhat of an illusion. (He’s not.) At no time to we feel the play has “resorted to” the method. Lighting and sound create evocative atmospheric changes.

Director Anthony Banks fabricates enough small business to make things seem natural and character specific. The different rhythms of each personality are almost musical themes. Pacing is particularly eloquent, allowing thought and emotion to feel palpable, deftly handling reveals.

Jassa Ahluwalia and Sophie Melville create absorbing temperaments. Ahluwalia is solidly present even listening. When Michael morphs from a “regular,” if rather solitary guy into his highly contrasting alter ego, conversation is imbued with gravity. Nothing is flip, nothing taken for granted. When what’s deeply buried rises, we believe both necessity and the wrench. Melville opens the play with the flibbertigibbet spirit of Alice’s white rabbit. A contemporary young woman, Justine brings her daily life home with a vengeance. Insecurity undercuts protestation of worth. The actress is credibly naïve, besotted, angry, disappointed. The two artists balance superbly.

Saddo could have been generic despite the playwright’s intriguing set-up. Greg Germann manages to make him distinctive and persuasive. He’s just a flicker, less gripping than his peers until late in the game.

Lucinda Coxom’s play is an exploration of dominance and submission, of role play by circumstance or choice – no cliché rubber or whips. Recent news stories have exposed men who use authoritative positions to attract/control and often abuse those who want something. Romance novels thrive on plots with a dominant tamed by the heroine, setting false expectations in the real world. In an agreed scenario, a submissive can feel pride and power even in what appears to be a sexually subservient role. Coxom shines a light on permutations.

Dialogue is economic. Nothing is over blown or even very risqué. Written ten years ago, it’s possible the author was wary of juicier language. One wonders whether a phrase or two would’ve made things more pithy or seemed added for shock value. As it stands, consistent nuance elevates.

The well produced piece is diverting, but also thought provoking. Things, as they say, are seldom what they seem.

Photos Courtesy of the Production

Herding Cats by Lucinda Coxom
Directed by Anthony Banks
Projection/Video Design- Andrzej Goulding
Lighting Design- Howard Hudson
Sound Designers Ben and Max Ringham
Greg Germann, Jassa Ahluwalia, Sophie Melville

Currently streaming live from London’s Soho Theatre through June 21, 2021

The groundbreaking production is hybrid in-person/ livestream theater with Germann performing live in Los Angeles and transmitted via video-link into the Soho Theatre where Ahluwalia and Melville perform in-person.