REVIEW: SUDS’ “Fat Alice”

By Lewis Ulm

Imagine the amount of tension that is built up in a decade-long affair. Add some personal issues to the mixture and it almost seems impossible to maintain. When neither partner can commit fully to the other, when the question of love hangs in the air, giving unnecessary weight to every interaction, every conversation... surely something has to give? And when it does, what will it be? 

Turns out it’s the ceiling. 

Fat Alice by Alison Carr depicts this extramarital tension literally, the ceiling caving into the foot of an upstairs neighbour as downstairs residents Peter and Moira navigate their complex relationship, both rife with problems and complexities of their own. But what underlines this affair is the even more difficult issue of body-image, as the couple has to come to terms with the question and truth of their own preferences and anxieties; perhaps the key to unlocking their relationship with each other. 

SUDS has put on Fat Alice as a part of the USU’s Health Week, a new initiative for SUDS which has been incredibly successful with this production. Directed by Zoe Clarke and Tom Hetherington-Welch and produced by Ange Tran, this is a mature show that brilliantly addresses difficult topics through a comedic yet devastating manner. The eager crowd was held for just around 45 minutes as Zoe Hinton and Alex Bryant excelled in their individual and combined performances of Moira and Peter, as the two were able to capture the intricacies of an adult relationship and skillfully command the tension the script naturally creates, causing the audience to both care and empathise for the two as they come to terms with the mess they have created. 

Moira and Peter are on stage together for the entirety of the show, traversing Pratha Nagpal and Ezara Norton’s designed set which perfectly complements the performance; the homely apartment feel contrasting with the chaos inside it. This chaos is emphasised at times due to the excellent lighting design by Charlie Hollands and Christian Liger, with effective strobe lighting and a stellar spotlight for one of Moira’s most important moments in the play. 

Alex Bryant is excellent as the sarcastic and straight-faced Peter, but impressively controls his output to match the situation. With this giving the audience an insight into what Peter really cares about, we can fully appreciate the complexity of his character and can more aptly judge the morality of his decisions. Peter is in a difficult and self-inflicted situation, seemingly only caring truly about anything if it is a large issue affecting him, and the audience can despise him for this. 

This contrasts incredibly well with the frantic yet loving Moira, and Zoe Hinton shines in bringing this character to life. With every sentence impressively being performed differently, all whilst managing to develop the tension of the play through the stability of her character, Hinton allows Moira to grandly conflict with the seemingly concrete emotions of Peter. Hinton’s ability to explore a broad spectrum of feelings was entertaining and unpredictable, but this was most exemplified in the moments of most intensity, backed well by the sound design of Matthew Forbes, whose music allowed for this intensity to build and climax effectively.

As the relationship of Moira and Peter continues to deteriorate (along with the ceiling), we see Moira continue to endure this pain until it comes to a head near the end, as her body-image issue that lurks throughout the play comes to full effect. The conflict the couple experience at this point is so well performed by both actors and I was impressed by the maturity both displayed in addressing such a complex and prevalent issue.  

And while this conflict was effective at the end, at times it appeared that their emotions were too strong and overdone, as care needed to be taken to ensure that the contrast between Moira and Peter was not too unrealistic. This was mainly at the beginning of the play, as Peter’s sarcasm comes off as stale in comparison to Moira’s excitability. I would have liked to see more unpredictable interactions between the two, as the limitations of the script can make the two seem like stereotypical romantic tropes. 

But once warmed up the two surprised and thrilled with creative conversing, and the audience clearly reciprocated this. The vibe in the Cellar foyer at the end was an indication of unanimous approval and the entire team should be proud of what was a refreshingly short production that used every second to tell an important story, and tell that story incredibly well.