The End of Us | Rouge Theatre Co.
Last night I got a serve of the most delicious slice of absurdist theatre by Rouge Theatre Company
Written and directed by Emma Fenton, The End of Us explores the end a couples mandated marriage just nine hours before the end of the world; a timely piece for our Covid world. An unnerving fact that I discovered during my research on this work is that the play premiered in London in February 2020 and on their final night was when Italy went into lockdown. Mental, right?
Full of sharp dialogue, witty exchanges and very episodic in nature, Fenton’s writing created a very surreal landscape which surprised and delighted. The thread that wove the scenes together was split into two, jumping between different stages in Meredith’s (Georgie Oulton) and Archie’s (Calum Johnston) plutonic marriage mandated by law.
Never have I ever seen a show which two such unlikeable characters at its centre. I don’t think there was one redeeming quality about either of them. Both characters were selfish, arrogant and appalling communicators, which are not character tropes that usually have such a prominent emphasis in theatre. It was regressing, in an absurd kind of way but it also made me tug my hair and curl my fingers into a fist as I wished for them to be better people. Oulton and Johnston played their parts with class and despite their characters being so disconnected, there was still quite powerful chemistry at play.
The End of Us is a play that is both profound, confronting and apocalyptic. It will make you think, it will make you feel and if you take a date with you to see it, you will be dissecting on the long drive home.
