Jezebel - Drama Barn

Jezebel - Drama Barn

Four/Five

Well, just as On Ego storms into TFTV, DramaSoc comes up with its own brilliant three-hander, warming another cold Friday night in the Barn. Jezebel is a bitingly funny comedy about an unconventional couple who stumble into each other's arms and fall in love. We see their problems and their solutions and ultimately their resolution. It is hard to give anything away for fear of ruining the jokes that the plot brings along.

The start sets up all the things that are brilliant about this production, however. We hear (separately) the lead couple Alan (Sam Zak) and Robin (Britt Borkan) break up with multiple partners for increasingly awkward reasons - "where I am...in my life right now...I'm just not looking to get married...to you". This then smoothly transitions into their double-entendre laced first meeting and a quick succession of dates that lead to the realisation that the magic has gone. This is followed by a quick solution - they need to spice up the sex life by trying new and wild things. This idea eventually results in meeting Jezebel (Anna Mawn) who is muddling through life as best she can, despite the heartbreak of her recent break-up with a convict. 

If you fancy the theatrical equivalent of New Girl with a hint of Charlie Brooker's wit (and maybe some of his dark comedy), then this is the play for you. Rarely have I been forced to laugh so far after a joke because it has been delivered so quickly and subtly (cough *table tennis*). The actors work as a seamless unit, each of them locked into their character and the play, and the night flew by. The only criticism is that the unnecessary interval stalled the second Act and had to work hard to get the audience back after that break. All credit to director Polly Jordan, she has created a production that knows its strengths and plays to them; the transitions between the scenes are simple and effective throughout. 

Jezebel is the funniest thing I've seen in the Drama Barn since I've been here, you'd be a fool to miss it. I don't know what has happened in York this week but with Smoke of Home down in London, On Ego in the Black Box and Jezebel in the Barn, the university is proving that it deserves a far wider audience than it is getting.