THE COUNTRY TABARD THEATRE
You can run, but you can't hide. It's one of the chilling messages in British playwright Martin Crimp's play, The Country.
On stage now at the Tabard Theatre in Chiswick, the plot holds the microscope over a seemingly successful couple who are making a fresh start by moving from London to the countryside.
All is well at the new home, until the unexpected arrival of an unconscious American girl.
At this point the audience become detectives and the darker truths behind the illusion take form.
"I've admired Martin's writing for a long time," says the associate director of the Tabard Theatre, who also directs the show, Simon Godwin.
"His style is a bit like Harold Pinter. There's no fat. It's just pure, visceral, excitement that's linguistically stripped to the bone."
Written seven years before The City, Crimp's latest play now on at the Royal Court Theatre in Sloane Square, it's a drama double not to be missed.
* The Country, by Martin Crimp runs until June 21 at the Tabard Theatre, 2 Bath Road, Chiswick, W4. Mon-Sat 7.30pm, Sat mats 2.30pm. £13/10 concs. Call 08448 472 264. See www.tabardtheatre.co.uk
The City, by Martin Crimp runs at the Royal Court Theatre until June 7. 7.30pm. £10-25. Call 020 7565 5000. See www.royalcourttheatre.com
