On a Manhattan rooftop, naïve young American Sam (Antony Welsh) encounters older Brit Joey (Olivia Hallinan). What happens next is up for debate: he believes that an impulsive night of adventures across the city ensued; according to Joey, her wild behaviour was attributable to jetlag, nausea and Sam’s optimistic misinterpretation of the situation.
Expecting never to see each other again, it turns out their meeting was no coincidence: the roof belongs to the building where Joey’s estranged father George (Ian Gelder) lives; unbeknownst to her, he has early-onset dementia, and Sam is his carer.
This extended version of Ella Hickson’s 2008 debut is essentially about disillusioned graduate Joey’s renewal in America, her British cynicism shaken up by Sam’s can-do attitude. Hickson’s blithe parroting of the American Dream is problematic. But it’s essentially well-meaning, given she’s only really using it to point out that the British are too cynical. Which is true.
Some of the dialogue feels over-extended, better-suited to a sitcom than the stage, but there are some great gags regardless, and James Dacre’s production is pacy and assured.
And amidst all the zingers and philosophising and the suspicion Hickson will ultimately make her name writing slick things for telly, there’s a beautiful performance from Gelder as a gentle, troubled man struggling painfully against the dying of the light.