Theatre Review - Anna X
Anna X opens in a NY nightclub: two characters dance manically to music so loud we cannot hear what they are saying; their conversation is projected onto a screen behind them.
They are Anna (Emma Corrin), former intern on a magazine, now an art curator and Ariel (Nabhaan Rizwan) designer of an elite dating app whose members join by invite only.
Before they meet again, they check out each other online. Anna, rumoured to be a Russian oil heiress, has painted an impressive life for herself on Instagram, while Ariel’s social media profile shows his star is rising.
The pair begin to date but Ariel is unaware that he is Anna’s financial target. Alarm bells ring when she leaves him with a $19,000+ hotel bill, but she tips so generously Ariel is persuaded she’s merely displaying the nonchalance of the very rich.
When she begins to press Ariel to invest in her art foundation, he finally begins to suspect her motives. Can he extricate himself before it’s too late and does he really want to?
Corrin and Rizwan give dazzling performances in this electrifying tale of artifice and identity, self-invention and manipulation.
Anna X originally ran at the Vault Festival in 2019. As the third production in Sonia Friedman’s Re:Emerge season in the West End, it’s a fine example of what can be achieved when venue and budget are upscaled.
Everything in the play is about appearance and this is reflected in the spectacular set and video design by Mikaela Liakata and Tal Yarden; a work of art in itself. Daniel Raggett’s smart, sassy direction is further enhanced by Jessica Hung Han Yun’s bold lighting and Mike Winship’s hypnotic soundtrack.
Anna X is supremely chic, but with substance. Unmissable.
Orignally published by Camden New Journal
Harold Pinter Theatre
Box Office: 0844 871 7622
www.atgtickets.com
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