Tamara Lawrance and Anthony Welsh in The Comeuppance [Mark Brenner]

BRANDEN Jacobs-Jenkins uses a high school reunion to explore life after the Covid-19 pandemic for a group of American millennials. Set in autumn 2022, five friends gather on Ursula’s porch, hours before their official reunion.

Ursula (Tamara Lawrence) supplies homemade jungle juice and pot. She wears an eyepatch – having recently lost her sight due to diabetes.

The first to arrive is Emilio (Anthony Welsh), now a Berlin-based artist, who appears ill at ease with his success. He harbours feelings for Caitlin (Yolanda Kettle), who has a husband with dodgy, far-right views. Kristina (Katie Leung) is a doctor with five kids and a drink problem.

It’s 20 years since the friends graduated and were all members of the self-named MERG(E) – Multi-Ethnic Reject Group. Kristina throws a spanner in the works by bringing along her cousin Paco (Ferdinand Kingsley).

He’s a year older, used to date Caitlin and suffers from PTSD having served in Iraq. His presence disrupts the gathering but Jacobs-Jenkins’ main conceit is that death is an uninvited guest and briefly inhabits each character. We realise the Grim Reaper is there for one of them.

A hit in New York last year, The Comeuppance perhaps carries less resonance for a UK audience – landmark events such as 9/11, gun violence, the Columbine shootings and the January 6 US Capitol attack are touched upon as well as the far-reaching shadow of Covid.

Jacobs-Jenkins is a fine writer, Eric Ting’s production fizzes with energy and the cast is superb. However, The Comeuppance lacks edge and its themes are meditative rather than hard-hitting.

It’s an enjoyable two hours watching these characters bicker, listening to their memories and regrets, and the resolution is poignant, but ultimately I was left wanting something more.

Until May 18
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