Invincible

Invincible, a recent play by Torben Betts, has just moved location from the Orange Tree Theatre to St James Theatre. A play very much in the style of Alan Ayckbourn, is driven by economic divide amongst the classes, and shows how perceptions on politics, art and just about everything is determined by class.

When a bourgeois couple, Emily and Oliver, played by Laura Howard and Darren Strange, move from the affluent south to a new home in the north of England, searching for a sense of community spirit, inviting their new neighbours over highlights class differences, as well as the North-South divide. Their newfound neighbours, Dawn and Alan, played by Samantha Seager and Daniel Copeland, are a crass couple who to the horror of Emily and Oliver both swill lager from the cans.

Dawn arrives in a provocatively figure-hugging tight orange dress, which draws the attention of a sex-starved Oliver, whose hen-pecking partner Emily takes notice of this fact. Alan, an overweight devout football fan sees art very differently from Emily, who is a professional artist, and along with his wife is unable to appreciate Emily’s modern art hanging on the walls; a hilarious scene ensues when he brings over two of the paintings of his cat.

The two couples relationship soon deteriorates after the death of a cat and revelations of an affair.

The cast all portrayed their respective characters extremely well and convincingly, and I thoroughly enjoyed this packed-out show. Highly recommended!