The Flats
Chelsea Theatre, London

Brendan Rimmer

They say three is a crowd, and in this play the saying certainly holds true, as three teenagers face adulthood, with their hormones running wild. This is an excellent production, with the director Timothy Hughes using the limited setting of one room in a flat to crank up levels of intensity and make the three characters fizzle and spark off each other.

The play explores the problems that introducing a third person into any relationship causes, particularly when the third person is an attractive girl between two male friends. The three characters in question are teenagers who have just finished their GCSEs and are wondering what to do with the rest of their lives. This can be challenge enough for any young person, but the main character Nat's new girlfriend Karen is causing all kinds of stresses and strains in his relationship with Stevo, his best friend since childhood.

Stevo and Karen are each resentful of Nat's affection for the other, and each tries to ensure loyalty through their own unique hold on Nat. For Stevo it is the great times they've had and the sheer length of time they've been friends. They shared a relatively underprivileged background where 'loyalty to your mates' was prized above all, and a block of abandoned flats were the canvas for all their hopes and dreams. It is a situation Stevo keeps harking back to, suggesting he, Nat and their mate Bobby all go and live in these flats, mix music and have sex with girls, in many ways an idyllic childhood fantasy that Stevo still clings to.

Meanwhile, Karen is from a more privileged background and offers Nat a serious vision of his future, in a college her 'Daddy' can help him get into. And then there is her sheer sexual allure. If this were the only dynamic taking place, the play would be fairly average, but what makes it truly intriguing is the relationship between Karen and Stevo. She continually asserts her sexual power over Nat in front of Stevo, who cannot help but watch as he seems to feel a mixture of sexual attraction and hate as she steals his best friend away from him.

The opening scene really captures this and sets the tone for the entire play. Music plays, as Karen dances provocatively in a short skirt and performs a mini striptease in front of the two boys. Both their tongues are hanging out, but when the music finishes she goes over and starts kissing Nat. The audience can almost see Stevo gnashing his teeth and holding back the tears of frustration. Nat and Karen clearly enjoy this, as they never waste the opportunity to embarrass Stevo, from Nat calling him a 'perv' and a 'maggot' to Karen dancing up to him and stealing his tape. This is an excellent expression of one of the many power struggles taking place amongst the characters.

Less impressive are the play's attempts to explore the 'what do I do with my future?' aspect of the characters' situation. It is very clear that Stevo is effectively going to waste his life hanging out at the flats while Nat will flourish under the influence of his 'sensible' girlfriend. But the price of this very clear conclusion is that the characters come dangerously close to being caricatured as 'sensible' or 'stupid' in their life choices.

This delineating approach sharply contrasts to the very human way in which the characters interact with one another, where there is no clear line either morally or emotionally between them. Ultimately this human element is the very best thing about The Flats as it allows it to capture perfectly the confusion among the teenagers, making the characters so fascinating and the play a pleasure to watch.

Till 24 April 2004