Jim Cartwright’s 1989 play Two is set in a pub of the sort that was once everywhere: a mahogany bar, old-school pumps dispensing mild, bitter and stout, spirits lined up in optics behind the counter, and a dartboard on the wall. The chairs and tables never matched, and the floor was often sticky from spilled drinks. Every neighbourhood had one – often several – and they formed the heart of the local community. At the centre was the landlord, “mine host”, usually working alongside his wife: congenial, hard-working, on first-name terms with the regulars, who might well include a local villain – or three. Long hours and little time off were the norm, and behind the scenes, tensions could easily bubble and boil.
As Two begins, to the sound of Madness, we meet the landlord and his wife, played by Peter Caulfield and Kellie Shirley. Over the course of the evening, we also encounter twelve of the pub’s regulars – all played by the same two actors. Among them are a frail widower caring for his ill wife, two lively young Scousers, an old man mourning his recently deceased spouse, a domineering wife and her put-upon husband, a coercive bully of a husband and his downtrodden wife, a predatory middle-aged drunk woman and a young boy left to fend for himself with nothing but a packet of crisps whilst he searches for his father.
Most of these characters are broad stereotypes, but they feel recognisable – the sort of people you might well meet in a pub like this; it might have been fun to encounter one of those rumoured local villains though. The only pair who don’t quite fit are an Elvis-obsessed couple who have apparently come to the pub to watch television – an oddly misplaced idea.
Caulfield and Shirley are superb. With the swift addition of a hat, glasses or a jumper, they slip effortlessly into each character. Every transition is seamless and, the Elvis lovers aside, entirely convincing. Between these transformations, they return to the landlord and his wife, interacting with the audience – some of whom are seated within the pub itself on those mismatched chairs and tables. Gradually, it becomes clear that the couple’s relationship is strained, though the reasons remain buried until the final moments, when an encounter with one of the characters sets off emotions that have been simmering beneath the surface – their emotional truth giving the play its real weight.
Two has often been staged in real pubs – I saw it at The Priory Arms back in 2013 – but here the smaller space at Park Theatre has been wonderfully transformed. Jana Lakatos’s immersive set captures the atmosphere perfectly – though it’s almost a pity the sticky floor didn’t make the cut. The subtle but effective lighting from Henty Slater is excellent and James Haddrell’s direction keeps the action moving briskly, even if the interval in a play that runs under ninety minutes feels somewhat unnecessary.
With traditional pubs closing at an alarming rate, Two seems like a lament for a disappearing institution – whether that’s a good or bad thing depends on where you prefer to take a drink. Viewed through the prism of time, the play becomes both a love letter to pubs and communities now fading from view and also a love story in all its messy complexity: funny, sad and unexpectedly moving. Nearly forty years on, Cartwright’s play resonates in ways he could scarcely have imagined when he first created it and this production does full justice to his excellent writing.
Review by Alan Fitter
Behind the bar of their London boozer, the Landlord and Landlady welcome their regulars with open arms. Lending an ear for stories of celebration, of loss, of love and of despair, the bickering couple work together to keep the locals in high spirits – with drinks, conversation and laughter. But what is their story? As a lost boy turns up on their doorstep looking for his Dad, the couple must confront their own demons and perhaps, for the first time in years, talk to each other…
CAST
Kellie Shirley
Peter Caulfield
CREATIVES
Jim Cartwright – Writer
James Haddrell – Director
Jana Lakatos – Designer
James Turner – Production Manager
TWO
Park Theatre
1 to 25 April 2026
