Telling your friends the truth can be a difficult task; we’re accustomed to the little white lies of “I’m okay” or “yeah, everything’s fine” in the pleasantries we engage in every day. But what happens when a close friend truly needs your help? When you’re seeing them make bad choices and nothing you’re saying to them seems to be getting through? Mike Bartlett’s An Intervention seeks to find the answers in two young adults desperately trying to find their way in a tumultuous world. Directed by 郝邦宇 Steven Hao, and marking the debut production for Downstage Theatre Company, An Intervention rings as true today as it did over a decade ago when it was written.

A and B have been friends for around three years now; A would even say that B is her Best Friend. But when B doesn’t show up to protest Britain’s involvement in a looming war against the middle east, questions begin to surface. Finding out that they have very different world views initially shakes the duo, but it’s their feelings about more personal things like A’s drinking habits and B’s new girlfriend Hannah which really start to affect their friendship. As time passes and the two see less of each other, the chasm between them only widens. When they’re both at their lowest points, can they rely on the other to support them through it?

An Intervention is a brilliant title, as it sets up our expectations only to subvert them several times throughout the play. Initially it seems like A’s drinking is going to be the issue for which the titled intervention is staged, but really what we witness are a series of confrontations between the two which never quite lead to the sort of sit-down intervention we traditionally think of. Rather, it’s B’s entrance at the end of the play, thwarting a life-altering decision for A, which the title is referring to; an intervention of action rather than just words. However, you can even take it so far as to look at the war element to the story as well: the British government thinks it’s doing the right thing by intervening in an ongoing conflict, only to create more casualties and heighten the problem. How do we know when to intervene and when to hang back? Despite their confrontations, A and B have tried to let each other live their own lives, but did that really work? Or did it lead to this rock-bottom moment for them both?

Claudia Matas’s design for this production capitalizes on the intimacy of the space, while also making the pieces fit into the multiple locales required for the play. The adjustable sofa and various tables transform into living rooms, an art gallery, a bar and more. Mathilda Kane’s lighting design, particularly the use of the frame to simulate the TV and create shadow plays throughout the story is stunning.

It’s the performances in An Intervention have stayed with me since leaving the theatre. Jordan Jerry Kuper’s B starts out a little distant, but becomes more fascinating and, at times, alarming as the play continues. Kuper gives a heartfelt performance which makes the final moments all the more heart-stopping. Jadyn Nasato’s A is feisty yet forlorn, understandably tired with the world. Nasato pulls on your heartstrings with every moment, and I couldn’t help but put myself into A’s shoes throughout the play. An Intervention truly allows both of these performers to shine, and you can feel the passion and care they’re putting into telling this story.

An Intervention deals with some poignant yet difficult subject matter, and yet this production handled it all gracefully and with diligence, making me eagerly await what Downstage Theatre Company will do next. When A and B finally said that they loved each other in the final moments of the play, you somehow understand that things are going to be okay – or at least, that’s how I’m choosing to interpret this very ambiguous finale. The healing has certainly begun, and the chasm bridge beginning to grow with that simple “I love you.” Something I try to do as much as I can is tell the folks around me how much I love them, be they friends or family. You never know when that little “love you” can make all the difference in the world.

An Intervention has unfortunately closed, but you can keep up with Downstage Theatre Company through their Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/downstage.theatreco/

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Cover Photo: Jadyn Nasato and Jordan Jerry Kuper. Photo by Fiona Vandermyden @effervescent.productions

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