There’s a military intervention in an unnamed country, a discourse so familiar to audiences that it could be any number of invasions — Iraq, Afghanistan, Ukraine. Yet in Mike Bartlett’s An Intervention, this distant tragedy serves as both a background for and an essential part of the narrative of A and B, whose friendship begins to collapse over their disagreement towards war.

The audience is seated in the round, with A (Theo Tompkins) and B (Maddy Power) emerging from and constantly returning to their seats within the front row, which brings to mind an exposure similar to that of a wrestling ring. Tompkins and Power went beyond simply addressing the audience, but really interacted with them, garnering many of the play’s laughs through eye contact and asides. The audience becomes a part of their personal sphere, which to me felt like an interesting comment on observation and separation; our lives are more intertwined than we might realise, and here especially, so is the presence of a seemingly removed military intervention

“Their performances truly captivated audiences”

A, and in the final act, B, use war as a means of deflection from confronting personal problems so that the military intervention becomes a disturbing mirror image of their collapsing friendship. As a duo, their performances truly captivated audiences with grippingly natural dialogue. Their chemistry was powerful and polished; while Tompkins blundered across the stage with chaotic and dominating movements, Power often stood still and with more sincerity, making explicit the dynamic between the two. Tompkins’ performance saw A become increasingly erratic and unhinged with his consuming alcoholism, and the subtle tenderness that remained towards his friend enabled a level of empathy for this cynical character. Power was equally impressive as the more contained B, demonstrated especially when the composure of her character would crack, and the agony over the loss of a friendship was clear.

Sound becomes a key part of the play through the skillful sound design of Tirza Sey and Daniel Patten, representing both the distance and creeping inescapability of global tragedy in the modern world. News coverage audio from a variety of atrocities — Iraq, Ukraine, and the climate crisis in seamless succession — foregrounds the military intervention as an ever-present force in this personal relationship. Yet this news coverage is often turned off by a remote in A’s possession, reminding audiences that this ability to disconnect is a privilege. A and B’s lives may relate to the war, but their distance means they still can tune it out when it becomes too troubling.

“In the final moments of the play, tragedy is thrust much closer to home”

In particular, the song choice of ‘Mr. Brightside’ for the transition into the final act felt, in hindsight, appropriately disturbing what with the startlingly dark ending that followed. As the news continues to play distantly in the background, the personal and the political become indistinguishable for A and B, evoking the paralysing confusion of living in a world of such hyper-communication. As becomes clear through B’s description of a fight with her partner, countless tragedies start to blend into one in the background of our distanced lives, yet in the final moments of the play, tragedy is thrust much closer to home.

The silence emanating from the New Cellars at the end of the performance confirmed exactly what An Intervention did; leave its audience struggling to find the words appropriate to articulate a response to the most moving ending I have seen in Cambridge theatre. Personal tragedy was not shied away from, but rather portrayed with heartfelt care. This deterioration of a friendship may be an allusion to the unpredictability of international relations, or maybe it isn’t — the lack of explicit allegory leaves the play open to interpretation: it tellingly leaves the decision of whether the focus is the personal, the political (for A and B, action or inaction) or a mixture of both to each audience member.

Regardless of your choice, An Intervention, thanks to the power of the two leading performances and the direction of Maia von Malaisé, immerses audiences in this relationship of rising tensions and sends a powerful reminder that although we may be desensitised to violent suffering, we should not, or perhaps cannot, be ignorant enough to forget it.

An Intervention is playing at the Pembroke New Cellars from Tuesday 7th to Saturday 11th March, 7pm.