This dark comedy by young Patrick Marber had an impressive premier at the English National Theatre in 1997 and won an Olivier, then had a disappointingly short run on Broadway. The American failure, I believe, was due to the casting of Natasha Richardson, hot off her Tony-winning performance in Cabaret. Richardson's presence led many to believe that (a) hers was the lead role, and (b) her character was youthful and immature like Sally Bowles. But Closer is written for four characters of equal importance, two male, two female. And the one played by Richardson is described by the playwright as "a woman" in contrast to the other, called "a girl." In this revival at the National Theatre the balance is restored. Amanda Ryan is flamboyantly adolescent as the girl, and Lizzy McInnerny is perfect as the jaded, mature woman.
A newspaper obit writer sees the girl hit by a taxi and takes his new acquaintance to the hospital where they meet the other man, who's a physician there. This meet-cute opening stands in contrast to the plot that unfolds of attractions, sexual maneuvering, hostility and cruelty. Young Alice moves in with the newspaperman, Dan, but soon he meets and falls for an older photographer, Anna. She marries the doctor, Larry, but has an affair with Dan. Eventually everyone betrays everyone else in an indictment of modern sexual game-playing. Marber's dialogue is sharp and funny.
One memorable scene has the two men separately at their computers on opposite sides of the stage. The only sound we hear is the tapping of keyboard keys as overhead screens show us what each is typing. Larry is looking for a woman for internet sex and Dan, joining the chat room, pretends to be an interested slut. The dialogue is too lurid to quote here, but it's hilarious. Even outside this scene, there's frequent use of sexually frank language -- not obscene, just descriptive of what these four people are constantly doing and hoping to do. The play uses language so well that it never needs bare bodies.
The scenery is minimalistic, the costumes contemporary and the actors' accents are Middle Atlantic, as intelligible to Americans as to the English. Clearly these people and their games are ubiquitous.
