There are a couple of lines in this play about visiting a movie theatre, it’s 1910 and films are a new, and often surprising experience. One of the characters describes the illusion which is created; something that seems so real that you could reach out and touch it, only for it to disappear completely. He could just have easily been describing the play itself, for Karoline Leach’s Tryst is a tense two-hander, filled with twists, turns and taut intrigue.
In Edwardian London, a backroom girl in a milliners shop (with a handsome inheritance) meets a charming and suave gentleman. He wines and dines her, and within two days they are engaged to be married, as long as she brings her bank book on the honeymoon. We, the audience, know from the opening lines he’s a con man, for George has described to us in great detail the process he follows to woo the ladies he will eventually abandon, but only after he’s ‘done his marital duty’.
Adelaide, feeling the first flush of love, is besotted with George, even in the dingy bed and breakfast where they will spend their first night together, she delights in his attention, and makes his job all the easier. When she realises she is being hustled, we get the impression he’s changed his mind, maybe he does have feelings for her after all.
In the first few scenes much of the set is hidden behind dust sheets, two large trunks and a door frame are moved around to create various settings. In the second half, the action takes place almost solely in the bed and breakfast, the dust sheets are removed one by one, and much like George’s lies, reveal something unexpected underneath. Max Dorsey’s design gives Tryst an authentic feel, with a few twists and surprises of its own.
Natasha J. Barnes gives a powerhouse performance as Adelaide; really getting under her skin, she navigates the complex emotional struggle faced by the character; the competing low self esteem driven by her father, and the aspirations to better her life. All this and more is expressed in Barnes’ tender, yet commanding performance.
Fred Perry is equally as convincing in the role of George, he leaves you abhorred with the character, but at the same time falling for his campaign of flattery. Perry gives George confidence and swagger, while exposing his weaknesses.
What starts out as a rather comical play develops rapidly into a tense psychological thriller, where you are never really sure who, or what to believe. Director, Phoebe Barran keeps the audience on tenterhooks throughout, peeling away at each layer of the plot, and characters with precision. A rather unusual, but effective presentation of the epilogue, leaves the audience in a state of curiosity.
Tryst is an enthralling piece of drama, which will no doubt leave you reaching for your search engine of choice, if only to confirm the assertions of the epilogue. The plot is enough to keep you hooked, but it is the performances which grab you emotionally.
