For those in search of a holiday, Bess Wohl’s Barcelona – a tale of sun, sadness and suspicious strangers – offers only the mildest form of respite. Director Lynette Linton, whose talents shone in her recent production of Benedict Lombe’s Shifters, prolongs her sojourn at The Duke of York’s Theatre to direct this revival of Wohl’s 2012 play about what happens when a sangria-fuelled one-night stand takes a mysterious turn.
In this sizzling two-hander, Lily Collins (of Emily in Paris fame) makes an impressive West End debut as Irene, an all-American blonde, searching for sexual escapism and another drink. Dressed in a sequined jumpsuit and silver platforms, she stumbles into the opening scene snogging Spanish stranger Manuel (a smouldering Álvaro Morte), who she met at the bar – rather scandalously – during her own bachelorette party. He lives in a ‘cute’ apartment with a view of the Sagrada Família, yet he’s never been to see it and the whole block will be demolished at sunrise. What starts off in rom-com territory, with woozy late-night conversations and cringey dances to Usher, ends up exposing the darker currents and uncontrollable forces that whirl beneath their seemingly carefree lives.
Lending substance to the play’s relatively light and loquacious script is Wohl’s cultural critique of America, with its overbearing capitalism and grandiose sense of exceptionality. Manuel reduces the country to a land of ‘McDonalds and war’, to which Irene comically retorts that being ‘in charge of the whole world’ is hard. Whilst the breezy simplicity of their political views is bait for laughter, more deeply, Wohl suggests the ways in which these cultural misunderstandings complicate, even fracture, relationships, but doesn’t push the dialogue far enough to say something really poignant.
Instead, Barcelona’s emotional impact lies in the charisma of its performers. As Irene, Lily Collins leans into Emily, Netflix’s much-loved heroine. She calls her Spanish beau ‘Manolo’, after the luxury shoe atelier, and exhibits characteristic chirpy charm. The emotional range she displays is pleasing: at first, she’s nervous and giddy, drunk on the promise of the night; but as dawn breaks and her eyes clear, she finds new strength and resolve to take her into the future.
Morte is equally good. His dry wit and armoured responses hint at Byronic woundedness. So does his predilection for Puccini’s ‘O mio babbino caro’. Harbouring devastating secrets, his Manuel is sympathetic but not entirely to be trusted. After all, he’s so much older than Irene, and she’s in a shadowy apartment where – à la Bluebeard – she imagines he keeps his ‘mistresses’. ‘Do you believe in fairy tales?’ Irene asks greenly; ‘only in the frightening kind’ is Manuel’s sinister reply.
Complimenting these shades of feeling and character is Jai Morjaria’s lighting design, which shifts subtly throughout the course of the play. Romantic blues and oranges gradually fade into the strident hues of dawn. It’s a sublime evocation of what it feels like to be up all-night waiting for the sun to rise.
Barcelona is a play that shimmers with intrigue, but never realises its full potential due to the inconsistencies and improbabilities of its script – who, for instance, would let someone they’ve just met cajole them into impulsively calling off their marriage? Somehow though, Collins and Morte sweep you up in the illusion, adding to the piece greater depth and body. Lovers of Emily in Paris certainly won’t be disappointed; in fact, with a theatre at full capacity and riotous standing ovations, the play is a happy testament to the critical role mainstream culture can play in keeping our arts alive and kicking.
Barcelona
Written by Bess Wohl
Director: Lynette Linton
Photo credits: Marc Brenner
Cast includes: Lily Collins and Álvaro Morte
Until: Saturday 11th January 2025
Running Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes