Review: The Harmony Test (Hampstead Theatre)

Review by Sam Waite

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Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing – NIPT, or a “Harmony Test” – is a process by which a foetus is screened to identify signs of genetic abnormalities, including Down’s Syndrome and other lifelong disorders. Perhaps The Harmony Test, a new play by Richard Molloy, gives fair warning that the often sitcom-esque shenanigans will give way at times to much, much heavier topics in this Hampstead Downstairs debut.

Zoe and Kash have decided to try for a baby, and she is taking their fertility plan incredibly seriously – she has the ovulation dates noted, the supplements set up for both to take, and the twice-daily intercourse planned to a T. Meanwhile they take in Zoe’s friend Naomi, freshly separated from husband Charlie and in the beginnings of a fiery affair with the decades-younger Rocco, who somehow also becomes their houseguest, which Kash might mind a bit less if their escapades weren’t so loud or if Rocco could be just a bit less undressed in their kitchen.

This same kitchen is where the entirety of the play is set, allowing designer Sarah Beaton to fully craft the space without the worry of how it can be shifted or transformed into the next location. With a working sink, well-stocked cupboards and a clearly planned layout, this could easily be broken down and reassembled in a real-life home, so lived-in and authentic is the presentation. A door to the outside is implied through action to be the back entrance, as doorbells come from the hallway, which we see just a sliver of through a door at the side of the stage.

Billed as a comedy, The Harmony Test does have a lot of jokes, Molloy’s script tossing out one-liners and gags at the characters’ expenses in rapid-fire succession. Well-meaning but naïve Kash bemuses with an extended discourse around the potential swelling Zoe’s firm lovemaking schedule could entail, and her dismay at the “home remedy” he buys under-the-counter from a random shop assistant is sheer sitcom joy. Zoe herself is often the straight-woman, one sane woman, or whatever your term of choice is – simply put, she is funny because of how firmly she’s a normal person surrounded by exaggerated buffoons. Molloy’s characters all feel lived-in by a few minutes after our meeting them, so much so that the lack of classified backstories seem not to matter at all – they’re funny enough and genuine enough in their intentions and their mid-life confusions (Kash and Zoe are in their 30s, Charlie and Naomi their 40s) that it’s easy to accept that the way their world is ought to be all that matters.

Alice Hamilton, Hampstead’s Associate Director, could be the next Jim Burrows, her understanding of how sitcom characters move and behave is so deeply prevalent. A character being talked at more than to will continue their tasks, tidying up the kitchen or preparing a cup of tea, because they and Hamilton know that they can still be clearly seen. Reactions will take the attention to the reactor, rather than sharing the moment with the source of their response – a potential fault in live theatre, but when your tone is so clearly established as like these prime-time gems it’s hard to fault.

In the young, buff Rocco, Sandro Rosta finds enough natural charisma and genuine warmth that we understand not only that his muscular physique is an imposition in their home, but why they come to care for and even confide in him. Naomi, played with just the right amount of bitterness by Jemima Rooper, is the perfect foil, where Rocco seems to visibly become more mature in certain scenes, Rooper tears into the mayhem and misery of someone trying to reinvent themselves in middle aged. Where Charlie is given less to do until the back end of the play, Milo Twomy brings a palpable pain to the role of the spurned man, and a believable lingering desire for his long-time wife.

By comparison, with the chaos around her, Pearl Chanda’s Zoe can risk becoming flat and wooden, the one calm person among a mass meltdown. However, Chanda’s own natural gift for comic looks and one-liners keeps the characters sass and personality front and centre, and in painful later moments she is arresting, commanding, and genuinely heart-wrenching in depicting the suffering that can accompany pregnancy’s many complications. Opposite her, Billy Gill makes Kash loving and kind enough that we understand why she fell in love with him, but absent-minded and naïve enough that we can understand from the get-go why he drives her up the wall.

It's not perfect, and some jokes land significantly more gracefully than others. And yes, the gender politics can lean a little towards datedness, even while commenting on that very subject. Still, Molloy’s The Harmony Test is a good time with some real and upsetting discussions at its centre, guided assuredly by its strong cast and the collaborative nature of its production – Hamilton and Molloy worked closely on the show, making their way through numerous drafts to arrive at the current version.

To end on the most minor of spoilers, The Harmony Test’s final scenes do open up questions we are left to conclude for ourselves the answers to – about the results of the titular test, about Kash’s thus far unsuccessful acting career, about the future of Charlie and Naomi as spouses and/or co-parents, and about Rocco’s relevance to any of their lives long-term. With this, Molloy and Hamilton have created an excellent reversal of their sitcom-like creation – it’s real, it explains less than you initially wanted, and it asks – or demands – that you sit with troubling realities, despite just how much you’ve laughed.

The Harmony Test plays at Hampstead Theatre Downstairs until June 22nd

For tickets and information visit https://www.hampsteadtheatre.com/whats-on/2024/the-harmony-test/

Photos by Richard Lakos