The Biting Point
Theatre 503
Written for South London Paper
Sharon Clark’s sharp and powerful London debut is a skilfully woven dialogue between the personal and the political. Set on the brink of the race riots of 1980s Thatcherite England, The Biting Point intertwines the lives of three people involved in an impending march. Dennis is trying to manage his situation, Ruth is lost in reviving her past and Malc is searching for love in the worst of places.
The Biting Point isn’t concerned with distinctions between choice and duty, but in the morphing of the personal into the political. Dan Coleman’s precise direction articulates the personal without losing sight of the political. This dialogue is what fuels and shapes the tensions of the play to a surprising and powerful resolution.
Although at times patchy, the acting is meticulous and commanding. Sarah Hoare’s Wendy, Dennis’ younger sister, is acted with care and wit, and Victoria Bavister’s Ruth is both dominant and fragile. Mark Friend’s design is subtly political and Tom Hackley’s sound design brings an appropriately angry and provocative character to the performance.
Ultimately the play’s most rewarding feature is the focus on the cause of the issue rather than the issue itself. Despite it being set in such a particular time of British history, The Biting Point is far more than a play about racial divide; it challenges us to look at how the problems are born to understand what they are. For that reason The Biting Point becomes an urgent portrait of prejudice, unrequited love and dislocated anger.
Tagged: South London Paper, Theatre 503