When someone talks about becoming a theatre actor, just take them to The Debate to show them what it is all about. Starring Martha Lott and her daughter Amelia Lott-Watson, it doesn’t rely on props, scenery or a soundtrack to tell its story; it’s all up to the actors to carry this play, from its joyous beginning to its distressing conclusion.

With just a table and a few chairs on the stage, we find Mara (Martha Lott) and her daughter Chloe (Amelia Lott-Watson) waiting impatiently to head into the school principal's office. Chloe is the school's top debater and is nervously waiting to be announced as the captain of the debating team. But something doesn’t feel quite right. Instead of encouraging her daughter, Mara regales her daughter with stories of her own accomplishments on the debating team when she was younger. This is a woman who appears to want her daughter to follow in her own political footsteps, with her sinister motives becoming clearer the longer the story plays out. As we soon discover, Mara has been quietly causing problems behind the scenes of this debating team. From spreading rumours online to doctoring photos and cyberbullying, Mara will do anything to make sure her daughter is triumphant in reaching her goals… until it all comes crashing down around her.

As previously mentioned, this is a show that theatre buffs would love. Martha Lott relishes the dialogue-heavy scenes, which bring out the very best of her acting skills. While Martha does most of the heavy lifting, Amelia also gets some instances to shine as well.

It’s a good play, possibly a great one, but for this reviewer, I found this story wasn’t exactly my cup of tea. The long, drawn-out diatribes felt rather dry, the dark humour (used to make racist comments) felt rather uncomfortable, while the ending seemed to come about rather abruptly. I feel the whole overbearing school mother story has been done to death, and although it may be a relevant topic, this play added nothing new to the subject. 

In saying that, I understand that not everything is made for me, and the audience in the packed theatre appeared to love the tragic tale and dark humour that was unravelling before us on the stage. For me, though, The Debate is strictly for the theatre lovers!

***1/2 Three and a Half Stars