The Problem, playing at Assembly Front Room, is a new production from Twilight Theatre Company written by the award-winning playwright Brian Parks. This American company boasts an impressive track record at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, including several Fringe First awards, and they have cultivated a strong following of theatregoers eager to see their signature blend of sharp-witted dialogue.
With a minimalist set featuring three black office chairs, three suited business executives, folders firmly in hand, reveal there is ‘a problem’. Crucially, the exact nature of this crisis is never revealed, but we are left in no doubt that it is a major catastrophe if anyone finds out. Across a sequence of snappy, brief scenes, the dilemma is explored, worried over and endlessly debated, while the three associates become ever more paranoid as time goes on.
Matthew Boston, Brian Dykstra, and Patrick Frederic are consummate actors at the top of their game. They bounce off one another with effortless precision, building the pace, the frenzy and the fun as increasingly absurd schemes are thought up. Under Margarett Perry’s crisp direction, not a single beat is dropped and every theatrical moment maximised.
From the moment the audience enters, classic jazz sets the tone. In fact, The Problem feels like a jazz score as we snap from scene to scene, each one punctuated by sudden freezes and swift light fades, keeping the audience locked in. Each short scene reaches its punchy, funny crescendo in rapid succession.
Parks’ script is undeniably clever, packed with wonderfully rich language, delivered at breakneck speed with infectious energy. However, the piece occasionally feels a little too pleased with its own cleverness, revelling in linguistic gymnastics. At times, you feel like you’ve been manipulated into easy laughter whilst the core of the play superficially skims over the trio’s underlying suspicion and backstabbing without ever reaching a satisfying resolution.
Ultimately, The Problem delivers a thoroughly fun hour of theatre powered by masterful performances. While it might leave you feeling a bit empty and wishing for just a touch more heart beneath the verbal fireworks, it remains incredibly entertaining.
Listings and ticket information can be found hereÂ
