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Rape and the way that the judicial system deals with it has risen up the agenda recently due to the current dire conviction rates, which have prompted many to argue that it has effectively been decriminalised. All this makes the Tower Theatre’s excellent production of Consent by Nina Raine, directed Ryan Williams, particularly timely. In Raine’s play the personal and political collide as we follow a group of friends over several years.
 When we first meet them, barrister Edward (Nick Edwards) and his friend Tim (Liam Brown) are due to take opposing sides of a rape trial involving Gayle (Alexa Wall). Meanwhile both Edward and his wife Kitty (Ruth Kirby), as well as barrister couple Jake (Nicholas Gill) and Rachel (Zelia Rita Mazele) are dealing with parenthood, while trying to set Zara (Nathalie Ava Nasr) up with Tim. Over the next few years, the couples have to deal with the fallout from Jake’s womanising, Edward’s affair and the hidden chemistry between Kitty and Tim, which explodes with dramatic consequences for all concerned. All seven actors put in strong multi-dimensional performances, each highlighting their character’s flaws. These range from a chronic inability to accept responsibility in the case of Gill’s Jake, to a lack of empathy in the case of Edwards. Alexa Wall puts in two contrasting performances as Gayle, the rape victim callously torn apart on the stand, and as Laura, a family lawyer whose only interest in Kitty’s revelations of marital rape is how this will affect the battle for custody. Nasr also demonstrates an impressive dramatic range that starts out as flirtatious before becoming coldly furious at the woman who she blames for the end of her relationship.
 Overall, this is a complex, smart play that highlights the messiness of human lives. Special credit must go to designer Athena Maria for creating a set that ably stands for a flat and a bar, while also allowing for a courtroom scene. Other crew and production members include Rachel Bothamley and Angela Large for costumes, Steven Cox for lighting design, Matthew Ibbotson for sound design, as well as Sharmilla Pillay, Ömer Warman, Laurence Tuerk, Millie Weston, Carlos Fain-Binda, Anna Kidd, Eliza Lawrence, Matt Johnson and Arabella Hornby.
Photography by Robert Piwko
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