The (garden) path to hell is paved with good intentions
Recently we have seen a spate of plays entering theater repertory that deal with privilege, class and race, and the conflicts that often ensue; Disgraced and God Of Carnage are just two of these. Enter Native Gardens into the lexicon; a story of two neighboring couples who declare war on each other over their gardens, of all things. A red-hot , knife-sharp comedy to suit anybody who has endured a nightmare neighbour,The Book Club Play playwright Karen Zacarias' new work wittily explores class - and taste - warfare over the fence-line.
Two couples are the focus of this new story. Set in the leafy, upper-crust suburbs, Latin-American newcomers Pablo and Tania find the house of their dreams. Pablo, a high-flying lawyer is keen to meet his neighbours Virginia and Frank, two white, conservative long-term members of the community. Despite getting off to a good start, a longstanding fence dispute blows up into all-out warfare; added to this, there are plans for Pablo to hold a raucous BBQ for his associates, and Tania wants to create a natural garden - quite in contrast with Virginia and Frank's English stately garden. What happens next is an extremely funny and caustic battle of wits and manners between both couples, where nobody comes up smelling of roses.