Packed with rich writing, full-blooded acting, taut direction, and even a bit of British politics, “Good With People” proves that a play needn’t sprawl over three hours to provide a satisfying theatrical experience. Indeed, this 55-minute two-hander, presented by Scotland’s acclaimed Traverse Theatre Company as part of Brits Off Broadway, makes a virtue of brevity, compressing its action into a rush of dialogue and imagery that strikes with the force of an avalanche.
David Harrower, whose play “Blackbird” lit up New York in 2007, uses the chance meeting of a man and woman in a small hotel to explore themes of guilt and forgiveness, the clash between tradition and modernity, and the grinding ache of loneliness. His densely textured, rapid-fire dialogue combined with George Perrin’s precise direction transform what could have been a ships-passing-in-the-night anecdote into a depiction of two souls searching for release from the past and union in the present.
Helen, a middle-aged woman who runs a struggling hotel in Helensburgh, a small seaside Scottish town, finds her emotions stirred when a young man named Evan checks in. Evan tells her that he’s returned to Helensburgh after
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