The are good Christmas dinners, there are bad Christmas dinners and then there is the Christmas dinner in Christmas Day, the new dark comedy by Sam Grabiner. A mix of family and friends gather in an industrial warehouse somewhere in London where nervy Jewish son Noah (Samuel Blenkin) lives with gentile girlfriend Maud (Callie Cooke). Sister Tamara (Bel Powley )is also there, along with friend just back from Israel Jack/Aaron (Jacob Fortune-Lloyd) and domineering dad Elliot (Nigel Lindsay), who thinks having a tree inside a house is pervy.
The scene is swiftly set for a clash of generations and attitudes. Mainly over Israel. At one point Elliot repeated screams “It’s ours!” over and over again, until he needs to lay down and rest. A heater suspended from the ceiling seems like a metaphor for Gaza - it flickers on and off until eventually it is smashed.
Grabiner’s bold, witty script (complete with Anne Frank gag – Bel Powley coincidentally starred in the recent Frank drama A Small Light) is weighted with symbols such as this. A stoner (Jamie Ankrah) wanders in and out, a little like a latterday Neil from The Young Ones. Someone pops their head around the door looking for the drug dealer who lives next door. A dead fox is surely significant, though I’m not sure what of.
Throughout this the script sizzles with comic lines. The meal is not turkey, it’s a Chinese takeaway, a traditional way Jewish New Yorkers mark the festivities. Imagine C4's Friday Night Dinner with added tinsel, noodles, anger and political debate. As Noah noshes his prawn crackers there is even criticism of this typical idea of an American Yuletide feast: “You're not Larry David, you're from Hendon!”.
At times the mood swings wildly from comedy to fury. It seems impossible to find any common over politics. Personal relationships are complex too, with secrets gradually emerging as the story builds to an explosive climax.
There’s no interval, so over 110 minutes the situation keeps ratcheting up. Nigel Lindsay – a familiar face to comedy fans from both Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa and, ironically, as a crap Jihadi terrorist in Four Lions – is brilliant. Even if you don't agree with Elliot’s views it is hard to take your eyes off him.
The rest of the cast is good too, even if their characters aren’t always as fully rounded as one might hope. There’s certainly a lot to take in here and in a way it asks more questions than it can ever hope to answer. This certainly couldn't be more timely. As Christmas Day dinners go, this one certainly provides plenty of food for thought.
Until January 8. Tickets and info here.
Picture: Marc Brenner
****
