Wasted is the story of three friends who love taking drugs but hate being adults, as they wander around a London scene they feel like they've outgrown. The play nicely captured a certain kind of mid-twenties aimlessness but failed to really slam home a point.
Kate Tempest, the playwright, is a massive name on the spoken word scene, and it shows - there are killer lines chopped out all over Wasted. On a scene by scene level the writing is great - tight and clear all the way. On a broader level though, the play doesn't hold up. The character's voices aren't well enough defined, and the anti drugs message seems tacked on - going out and taking a load of pills seemed to work out fine for our characters, so why are they warning us off?
The direction of the play seemed a bit fuzzy and unoriginal. There were moments, especially in the three hander poem breaks, that felt lifted straight out of an A level textbook on "edgy" drama. The form of the play - a mixture of dialogue and direct audience address - while interesting in its own right, felt underused and a little decorative. There wasn't the urgency that would have made breaking the fourth wall necessary - the characters didn't seem to be jumping out, just looking at us. The cast were accomplished though, with Cary Crankson as Ted offering a particularly charming performance.Wasted was an enjoyable play, but it had no emotional kick - I didn't care about the characters, and nothing happened to them anyway.