REVIEW: It’s Not All About Coffee at Brockley Jack Studio Theatre 15 – 19 July
‘Accomplished, imaginative, funny and sinister’ ★★★★
An accomplished piece of original and imaginative theatre, this production showcases the considerable talents of two women. Sophia Hail, who also directs, as Zona and Jennifer Kehl as Katherine have agreed to undertake a 60 day trial in which they train themselves to make coffee for their unseen bosses, at the end of which one or other of them will get the job but, of course, there is actually something much more serious going on. The clue is in the play’s title.
These women are actually in a “doomsday bunker” a mile underground in Hawaii because this is a dystopian two hander. It’s a witty, fast paced study of the relationship between them because they don’t initially know each other and their personalities are very different. Gradually their hang ups and vulnerabilities emerge and very slowly and, against the odds, a friendship begins to develop. There’s a lot of humour here but there’s poignancy too when, for example, Katherine explains why she applied for this trial. And towards the end there’s real terror as the situation hots up and, at last, we hear a voice (Austin Yang) from the outside world.
Hail is very funny as the excitable, untidy, all-American Zona (her full, flamboyant name is Arizona Turquoise) who has come by sea because, of course, she has environmental objections to flying. Kehl’s contrasting character is a control freak from Dallas who just about manages to hold herself together by being ruthlessly efficient. The dialogue is finely honed and the two actors play very pleasingly off each other. The passage of days is indicated by rapid physical theatre like a speeded up film and it’s a device which is both amusing and effective.
A word of praise too for the set which neatly provides a convincing coffee bar in a room which also has camp beds and a table and chairs – everything these people need for 60 days during which food is delivered in an elevator whose ping becomes almost sinister.
Well done Little Coup Theatre Company. This is impressively thoughtful work.
It’s Not All About Coffee
Written and performed by Sophia Hail and Jennifer Kehl
Directed by Sophia Hail
Little Coup Theatre Company
Brockley Jack Studio Theatre
15 – 19 July 2025
