Companion Piece
The Pleasance, Islington
16th March 2014

★★★☆☆

A lot is made of internet stranger danger regardless of the fact web dating is booming. Plenty of Fish, OKCupid and Lovestruck for your normals, Tinder and Grindr for those more casually inclined and Geek2Geek and Uniform Dating for those who, frankly, shouldn't be inflicted onto society. But the warnings always come that the person you meet could be a murderer, rapist or - gasp - a bit flabby. They never suggest that they're simply an oddball with, shall we say, individual interests. It's this that Concorde Theatre's Companion Piece - written by American Kevin Armento - attempts to address, with an outwardly normal Joe Shmoe having more to his life than meets the eye.

When Dolores (Amy Finegan) drops into New England on business, she meets her long-term cyberboyfriend Leonard (Mark Arnold). After an initially nervy start, they hit it off, but he struggles over one particular bombshell involving a woman from his past, Rosemary (Erin Hunter), reaching out to old pal Kip (John Schwab) for advice.

Deliberately vague non-spoilery time, I'm afraid, as the both Armento and director Abbie Lucas keep trying to wrong-foot the audience even as the nature of solitary Leonard's angst is revealed. Is he a harmless nutjob, is there some truth in what he speaks and does his hang-up mean that Dolores can't be with him - either due to her or due to him? At the centre of this, there's the knotty question of what companionship actually means to individuals, and Armento does a rather good job of giving Leonard a logical, relatable argument as to his life choices while we're still clearly meant to empathise with Dolores. It's this brains versus emotions dichotomy that propels the piece, inherent in Lucas' direction. As a computer repairman (a rather cliché choice of profession) Leonard's flat is functional, clean and smart, a contrast to what's bubbling underneath.

And what's there is... interesting. Arnold plays Leonard as a regular, if slightly socially awkward, guy free of the Norman Bates caricature of most internet users. For the most part. He's relatable, has a steady job, seems on the level. He's a friend you'd go for a beer with maybe once every six months but realise you've little to talk about with each other. Finegan too is an almost everywoman, but with the benefit of having the stage presence and looks of a younger Helen Mirren by way of a non-sour faced Cate Blanchett. Their awkwardness is palpable and a touch cringe-inducing, but at the same time, the audience feels they can get behind them as a couple. This connection comes despite Armento's tendency to not finish writing his lines, and Lucas happy to indulge him in this. There's naturalistic but then there's just...

No such problems for the direct Schwab and the frankly incredibly brave Hunter. Kip's interaction with Leonard is some of the best comically, and gives Arnold a chance to shine, but as far as advancing the plot or even the themes go, it's not needed. Okay, it's another prism to companionship, but that is so blustering it doesn't raise as many questions, or is it as subtle, as others elsewhere here. Hunter's cheery Rosemary, again standing at the other end of the scale to Leonard, makes it clear why this compassionate character would be of interest to him, but when needed she can entirely switch off and seem utterly removed.

While there's an interesting central conceit (albeit one explored in a different way in one particular 2007 Oscar-nominated indie film), great performances and some lovely jokes and a touch of creepiness, too much seems like padding or simply an excuse for convenient exposition or elucidation to justify its two hour-plus running time. Cut down to a lean 75 or even 90 minutes it would concentrate the final impact of our characters' situation and more easily continue the feeling of unease that gets deflated by the interval. As it stands, I wouldn't mind meeting this company again but they weren't what I pictured. They were - gasp - a bit flabby.

Companion Piece opened on 11th March and runs until 30th March 2014 at The Pleasance.

Nearest tube station: Caledonian Road (Piccadilly)