Finborough Theatre’s latest play JAB is a two-hander play by James McDermott and directed by Scott Le Crass. Starring Kacey Ainsworth and Liam Tobin playing married couple, Anne and Don. They have been married for twenty-nine years with two children. Then lockdown takes hold and life changes beyond recognition.

The couple appear to have some deep-rooted resentments towards each other and as the covid lockdown grips the country Anne’s resentment at the years she spent as their main “breadwinner” becomes stronger.  Working for the NHS her role puts her under a lot of pressure and forces her to tackle situations she never envisaged doing before.

Tensions rise as the months in lockdown drag on and the severity of the pandemic is echoed as the couple discuss the rising figures of deaths by covid in Boris’s covid statements and updates that he delivered during the pandemic. It brings back memories from that time which are now a distant memory.

As a key worker, Anne will have her covid vaccination once they start to roll them out. However, Don is adamant that it’s just flu and refuses to have his yet, as he believes they are not tried or tested enough to be safe!

Kacey and Liam’s rapport on stage offers a dynamic believable married couple. The arguments appear to come from the heart and as Don’s behaviour becomes intolerable there are moments I felt anger towards him and had to remind myself he was acting.

There are trigger warnings attached to this play which are necessary. Life doesn’t always go to plan and extreme circumstances can bring out horrible characteristics in ourselves that we never knew we had!

A play steeped in accuracy from a period in our lifetime that hopefully we never experience again.

For more information on JAB and future productions at the Finborough Theatre please use the link below.

Four Stars.

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