Speech & Debate, Trafalgar Studios review ★★★★★

Stephen Karam’s Speech & Debate, first produced in the US back in 2006, has now found its way to the London stage. Despite its age the themes are still relevant – you’re still scarcely able to flick across an internet forum without staring at a debate on where to draw the line between freedom of the press and invasion of privacy.

Karam’s play takes this issue on with high school journalist, Solomon (Tony Revolori), being refused permission to write an essay on abortion before his attention turns to a scandal involving the local mayor cruising online sites to meet young men, despite advocating anti-gay-rights policy. Here, already, we have the next big question; why would anyone live a secret life so opposed to their public persona?

When Solomon catches wind of a teacher within the school using the same site to pick up student Howie (Douglas Booth), his journey to expose the teacher draws him into a complex relationship of conflicting interests and mutual secrets held between himself, Howie, and crazed performer Diwata (Patsy Ferran).

Patsy, with somewhat ulterior motives, convinces Solomon and Howie to out the teacher through joining her in performing ‘Speech & Debate’, one of those overly competitive extracurricular activities popular culture would have us believe Americans are so fond of. In this case it’s students performing to the school across various categories, testing their oratorical skills.

While Karam’s script is effective, with scenes structured neatly around the rehearsals for each category, the water is somewhat muddied by the breadth of theme under discussion and humour which occasionally detracts from the drama underneath. Added to questions on censorship and privacy is the intersection of technology and nascent homosexuality, all of these themes expounded through various twists and turns in the plot. This is a lot to take on with any thoroughness, and it’s not clear that the script negotiates all of this quite successfully.

On the other hand the dialogue is incredibly engaging and there are some genuinely laugh-out-loud moments aided by strong performances – especially Ferran, who inhabits Diwata with a fierce energy and makes her an amusingly unhinged character. Use of musical performance and dance place an extra demand on the cast, but this is clearly no problem. If anything it’s refreshing to see a play where these sections work to the benefit of the drama, rather than as a distraction.

Trafalgar Studios 2 is exceptionally intimate and a truly excellent space for a tight ensemble piece. ‘Speech & Debate’ is a busy play full of ideas, but it’s one which is brilliantly entertaining through its entire 95 minutes.

Francis Elvans