Theatre review: Ride

Ride spins eighty minutes out of the most unlikely of premises—that a man and a woman wake up together, neither having any idea who the other is or how they got there, and yet somehow manage to stick around for 12 hours and talk.

The two people in question live in Melbourne, Australia, and wake up together after an epic night of debauchery. Neither remembers meeting the other, much less how they ended up naked in bed with each other. But some small spark of attraction must remain, since they stay and talk to other. She had been to the wedding of her first love—in fact, was the maid of honor—and while she claims she’s happy for them, her bender that night says otherwise. He was out barhopping with friends, trying to get over his ex’s abrupt departure. Somehow, they are drawn to each other, and they seem desperate to fill in the missing pieces of the evening.

While the story line is implausible (1. when people in real life find themselves naked in bed with a stranger, the first instinct is usually to bolt, not to stick around for tea, and 2. if they’d had so much drink they couldn’t remember several hours of the previous evening, they’d be too hungover to talk), there’s something charming about the concerted effort these two make to get to know each other. Several times the conversation hangs, and it seems they have absolutely nothing in common—and still, they manage to soldier on to the bitter end, when some new and vital information is revealed.

Jeremy Waters and Melissa Chambers are charming in their morning-after awkwardness, if a bit brusque at times. They do a good job of portraying their hidden loneliness without seeming needy, and while initially their characters don’t seem to have much in common, they do have an undeniable chemistry. The set, by James Hunting, naturally centers around the bed, but he’s cleverly hidden an additional element that comes into play in the last moments—aided by Cory Pattak’s lovely lighting.

Surprisingly, there’s very little mention of sex, and very little touching. Whether or not they had sex seems irrelevant next to the larger issue—did they want to? And do they still want to? These two create their intimacy in the most old-fashioned way—by talking.

Written by Jane Bodie
Directed by Nick Flint
With Jeremy Waters and Melissa Chambers
Set Design: James Hunting
Lighting Design: Cory Pattak
Running Time: Seventy minutes with no intermission
59E59, 59 East 59th Street; 212-279-4200
Tickets $25
Tuesday through Friday at 8:30 pm; Saturday at 2:30 pm and 8:30 pm; Sunday at 3:30 pm
January 15—February 8, 2009