Reviewer: Christine Stanton
Writer / Director: Craig Henry
“Hilarious & Heartwarming”
4.5 / 5
We’ve all been there – awkward, elongated job interviews with ridiculous processes that seem to have absolutely nothing to do with the position at hand. Clay and Freyja are both aiming for the same mysterious job; it’s an unknown salary (as usual) with a briefly vague description – but surely anything is a step up from what they’re doing currently. They’ve made it to the next stage and all that’s left between them, and the role is the ominously obscure Assessment Centre.
Clay (Jasper Talbot) and Freyja (Pippa Moss) are polar opposites. Freyja is stern, focused and prepared – her folder of notes neatly organised and memorised to help her succeed. In contrast, Clay has his crumpled-up CV shoved in his jumper, more interested in seeing how fast the clicker on his pen can go while he awaits the interview. The pair seemingly have nothing in common, and although Clay does his best to get to know the competition and find common ground, he’s shut down at every opportunity. They finally begin the bizarre tasks that have been set for them – a mix of riddles, team-building games and personal questions, before they start to realise that maybe there’s a common thread linking the two of them after all.
Assessment Centre is impeccably written by Craig Henry – combining the perfect mix of humour, realism and emotion into a storyline that engages right from the outset. The first part of the show is focused on the contrasts of the two characters, which is brilliantly funny and executed flawlessly by Talbot and Moss. Both incredibly talented, they embody the personalities of their characters flawlessly – allowing the well-written script to come to life and be completely believable. Talbot’s subtle, throwaway gestures and expressions are fantastic, and really elevate the humour in each scene – definitely an actor with immense success ahead of him.
As the narrative progresses, the audience are gently eased into the emotional dimension of the writing. As the characters slowly get to know each other, they find similarities in their experiences of grief and loss from a young age. The slow shift helps to introduce a more vulnerable, unexpected side to the story, and again is extremely well explored both in the script and the execution. Moss showcases the struggle to show emotion perfectly, and seeing Freyja’s walls slowly come down is really gratifying for the audience. Their exchanges around memories and shared trauma are sensitively approached, but relatable and genuine all the same – impressively handled by Henry. The aspects of humour are still prevalent, and although depths of their characters are exposed, they still maintain the same personalities to an extent that they began with – making for a very honest and believable performance.
Assessment Centre is a fantastic example of how to combine and balance two very different types of stories. Much like Henry’s well-crafted characters, the contrasts strengthen the performance and help to create a wonderful piece of theatre.
Runs until 13 August 2023
Photography: Oli Harman
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