Conversations Not Fit For The American Dinner Table @ Bedlam Theatre

Call me a sucker for political satire (and, let's face it, satire that ties into my own views) but upon reading that playwright Sol Max of Conversations Not Fit For The American Dinner Table used to work within the White House's communications department and now writes hilariously insightful and worryingly true satirical plays under a pseudonym and I was sold. 

It's more than that though. Conversations is a play that really has something in the way the entire production has been put together. The satire is biting, but it doesn't cut straight to the point. Instead it slowly builds up images of the characters, each representing an entire area of American beliefs, before fully delving into its true story: the killing of and subsequent media frenzy and battle for justice that surrounded Treyvon Martin. It is clear on which side of the debate Sol Martin's play lies, which packs an even stronger punch after the Not Guilty ruling that left his killer a free man.

The case is never specifically mentioned but it is the clear basis of the performance. And although the subject matter is bleak, the satirical tone is funny throughout and there are some laugh out loud moments that will leave you questioning American politics on all levels, as well as your own values. One of the biggest questions seems to ask, can we really expect any of this to change? Who is really to blame? 

Even if you don't want to go for the politics then the performance of actor Kyle Davies and his many masks and costume changes to portray each different character is impressive, though it remains what he is saying – or what he is insinuating as is the case with satire – that makes this play a definite for anyone with an interest or a worry about the confusing and irreconcilable differences in America right now.