Skin Tight, Cygnet New Theatre, Friday 29th and Saturday 30th June, 9.30pm
By Jenna Richards
Most Hollywood stars couldn’t act like that, observed my boyfriend as we left The Cygnet New Theatre after watching Skin Tight.
We’d both sat transfixed for an hour watching Tom (John Schumacher) and Elizabeth (Angela Bull) take us on a journey through their darkest secrets, deepest passions and heartbreaking truths.
The one act play, performed in the round, saw an ordinary couple with an extra ordinary love relive the physical, violent and pleasurably episodic remembrances of their first words, first date and first intimacy.
Angela Bull gave a raw but emotionally generous performance as Elizabeth. Her playfulness and sincerity aroused the audience’s sympathies, despite her teasing and playing with her lover’s vulnerabilities.
And John Schumacher’s Tom was a great match for Elizabeth’s physical sparrings. He also matched her emotional transparency as the lovers clashed, confided and seemed ready to consume each other in moments of totally believable erotic chemistry.
The connection between the two actors was such that it was impossible for the audience not to be swept up in the emotion and passion of the piece.
A brilliant play well worth seeing.
The production from the multi award winning Epsilon Production was shown as part of Exeter’s Ignite theatre festival.