There’s a lot of hype surrounding Barcelona and it’s easy to see why. Bringing together two well-known TV stars in Lily Collins (the titular Emily in hit series Emily in Paris) and Alvaro Morte (The Professor in Money Heist) in a major West End theatre, and with award-winning director Lynette Linton at the helm, expectations are understandably very high. So how does this play, from writer Bess Wohl, stack up?
It starts promisingly – our pair make quite an entrance, stumbling into an apartment after a boozy night out, laughing, snogging and fumbling their way around the kitchen. After a few minutes, however, it all falls rather oddly flat and never really picks up the pace again.
Barcelona tells the story of American tourist Irene (Lily Collins) and Spanish local Manuel (Alvaro Morte) and shows us what happens next, after the pair meet in a tapas bar. It sounds like it could be quite exciting, but it never quite reaches that potential – it’s not without its moments, but it does feel somewhat lacking. Both characters feel a bit stereotypical and one-dimensional – we may catch an occasional glimpse of Irene’s vulnerability, or a hidden depth in Manuel’s character, but for the most part she’s a brash, annoying, loud American and he’s a feisty local who hates tourists.
There are a few twists and turns in the plot although they don’t feel compelling, and given we never really invested in the characters, the stakes don’t feel particularly high when there are moments of suspense. These more serious moments sit uneasily alongside the silliness of the humour – there are some good jokes in here (although many of the punchlines can be spotted a mile off) but the tone of the piece feels muddled.
It’s a shame – nothing really quite adds up in Barcelona. At just 90 minutes (no interval) we thought it would fly by, but during the concluding scenes it really felt as though it was overstaying its welcome. There’s clearly a lot of talent in the cast and creative team involved, and the premise for the play has potential, but we were sadly underwhelmed by what we saw – we were really expecting so much more.
GAY TIMES gives Barcelona – 2/5
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