Spanish Oranges, review – Searing study of a celebrity marriage upended by scandal is mightily enjoyable

Fame and infamy are toxic bedfellows in this gripping psychodrama which explores a famous male actor’s cancellation in a sex scandal, and the subsequent fallout for his family. Spanish Oranges, the debut play by Alba Arikha, the novelist and goddaughter of Samuel Beckett, explores how decent women suffer and perpetuate bad relationships with astonishing patience until the truth is so bad that they snap.

Fiona, a novelist on the cusp of fame for her new book, threatens to overshadow her husband as his thespian ego and career crumple and his reputation worsens. She is doing her best to cope as Peter, the “famous actor”, is cancelled for inappropriate behaviour, including threatening her.

The tension is palpable as we witness her submit to a newspaper interview with a critic from The Times. This becomes a battleground between secrecy and candour, ego and self-protection, in the bitter aftermath of betrayal and emotional sabotage. Arikha has invented a truly surprising twist in the plot, which detonates emotional bombs in their relationship with comic and shock effect.

The husband is superbly portrayed by Jay Villiers, who plays the two sides of his stage character with an electrifying shiftiness and intensity, veering from thunderous threats to wheedling neediness. Fiona, played by Maryam D’Abo, escapes the limitations of typecasting as the former Bond girl in Skyfall opposite Daniel Craig’s 007 to be nuanced and effective as a victim as well as a victor of domestic wars.

The shame and secrecy of sexual betrayal further infects both parents as their daughter, in her early twenties, returns home to suffer the impact of their distrustful and degenerate behaviour. Turning a blind eye to Peter's selfish philandering has a debilitating effect on the daughter, played by Arianna Branca, daughter of the playwright, who makes a confident presence, an effective breath of fresh air in her debut on the London stage.

After the brilliant plot twist, the play has to rely on lesser surprises and its taut dialogue in the marital sparring sees Arikha tip a hat towards Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Ingmar Bergman's Scenes from a Marriage, both classics, dissections of dysfunctional family relationships and how the past can wreck the future.

The harshness of temper and lack of awareness of Peter combines with the utter selfishness as his fame fans a sense of entitlement. The title refers to Fiona’s inspiration for her novel, found after her encounter with an Uber driver who had a dream to travel to Seville to see oranges grow. It is a delightful aspiration amid much bad behaviour, which fortunately for us makes a mightily enjoyable play, tightly directed by Myriam Cyr.

‘Spanish Oranges’ is on at The Playground Theatre, London until 7 March