Actually
Trafalgar Studios

ANNA ZIEGLER’S topical two-hander, employing a series of interwoven monologues, revolves around Princeton freshmen students and an accusation of rape brought before a university panel.

Yasmin Page’s insecure yet effervescent Jewish undergraduate, Amber, with a brief unsatisfactory sexual history, tries to overcome her awkwardness and fit in during the drink-fuelled weeks of the fresher’s party world.

Simon Manyonda’s sexually confident Tom, a black student from a low-achieving family, is also trying to come to terms with his strange, new reality in the extended, alcoholic induction to college life.

Despite very contrasting personalities, their lives fatefully collide when their drunken date ends up with Amber claiming that Tom failed to accept her unwillingness to continue having sex.

This play, though, is about far more than sexual allegations and the “50 per cent plus a feather” proof that determines the outcome of many college, sexual misconduct cases.

The tagline for Ziegler’s play is “one night, two people, three truths” and this holds the essence of this tightly constructed drama, where the subjective nature of an individual’s reality is also on trial.

Both actors give skilfully nuanced performances as their contrasting personalities, backgrounds and insecurities come to the fore around the incident and the audience become witnesses to how and why the event occurred and its traumatic and potential, life-changing repercussions.

Director Oscar Toeman makes full use of the intimate stage space, locking his two actors together even when their narratives explore previous, personal histories.

Many of the candid revelations about their feelings and sexual experiences are delivered in such close proximity to the audience that we are personally drawn into their lives at this crucially formative time of their development.

Ziegler’s sharp observations and ability to capture her characters’ public and private worlds and two outstanding performances make this a captivating addition to a rapidly growing body of work about sexual misconduct, but also asking bigger questions about identity.

Runs until August 31, box office: trafalgarentertainment.com.