What I liked
I liked the choice of having the director saying “cut” from the audience. This broke the fourth wall in a way that made me wonder how much of this play was the character’s behaving sincerely or how much they were performing knowing that other people “on set” (the audience) were watching them. This dynamic changes during the scenes not set at the film studio.
What I didn't like
Some of the scenes felt like they went on past a good end point, circling back to arguments that had already been made. Sometimes this felt intentional and effective, other times it felt like it was adding unnecessary minutes to the run time. However, this is an easy mend with some thoughtful editing, and doesn’t take away from the play as a whole.
My overall impression
At times reminiscent of Samuel Beckett, A Rock Feels No Pain is an intimate two hander between an aging male television star and an up and coming young man on the verge of his first big break. It shows a side of male friendship and mental health struggles rarely touched on in media today.
