Category Archives: 2019

2019

"Out of Sorts" at Theatre 503

As winner of the International Playwriting Award, the figures surrounding Danusia Samal’s new work are impressive – it was selected out of 2,055 scripts from 49 countries. While judging so many plays must be hard, it’s easy to see why the panel chose this one. A firmly rooted story of modern London life, with drama from the dilemmas facing a young Muslim woman caught between “two worlds that do not mix”, Samal balances humour and pathos with skill and assurance.

It’s clever that our heroine Zara, impeccably performed by Nalân Burgess, isn’t entirely sympathetic. Zara’s parents, from whom she hides her Westernised life, deserve more from her. They are, at best, a source of fun for Zara and her flatmate, Alice, another satisfying part that’s developed well by Emma Denly. Samal presents Millennials that are easily recognised, maybe a little too harshly judged and good fun. There are scene-stealing lines, too, from younger sister Fatima, a role that Oznur Cifci makes her own, confirming Samal’s comedy skills.

The writing often shows an impressively light touch that director Tanuja Amarasuriya handles well and uses to counterpoise the play’s big themes. For, alongside considerations of race, immigration and class, it becomes clear that Zara’s problems aren’t just a clash of cultures. Some home truths from Alice’s boyfriend (a role that, like Zara’s father, falters compared to the women, despite the actors’ commendable efforts) leads to a homecoming that brings a focus on mental health issues. The plotting may not be sophisticated, the action is possibly rushed, but Samal’s leading characters are beautifully crafted and utterly engrossing.

Out of Sorts comes back to the conventional family – a traditionalism that Samal brings to sympathetic fruition in a detailed two-hander finale. Here’s a moving scene that gets the best out of Myriam Acharki as Zara’s mother, who shows hidden depths. It’s no surprise Samal is a performer herself – she’s written enviable roles that really sing. If the conclusion shows a cautious streak (and as a choice of competition winner the play itself is a conservative choice), Samal’s skills are clear. Remember that safe bets pay off.

Until 2 November 2019

www.theatre503.com

Photo by Helen Murray

2019

"Dutchman" at the Tristan Bates Theatre

An encounter between a white woman and black man on a subway train is the simple scenario for this short play by Amiri Baraka. But from this, the writer previously known as LeRoi Jones, an important and controversial figure in African American literature, creates a dizzyingly complex text. Race, class and gender are all addressed in a piece that overflows with eroticism, polemic and violence.

As much a poem as a play, the figure of Lula, the woman who starts chatting up a random stranger, is a puzzle from the start. The contradictions don’t let up as the danger in the play increases. You could see Lula as an allegory, complete with an appetite for apples, as she moves from “party talk” to interrogating “manhood”. Truly repulsive – she’s insulting, self-aggrandising and morbid – she is purposefully difficult to watch. It is a mammoth role and taking the part Cheska Hill-Wood does well to keep up to speed with this most mercurial of figures. Most of what she says is so awful (the play is from 1964 and the vocabulary used is of that time), it can’t be easy to deliver and it is difficult to listen to.

As her “prey” Clay, James Barnes has just as tough a job and is similarly exemplary. Barnes has to move from being intrigued to provoked – his arousal at this oddest of women rising and falling – to a finale of explosive rage that is frightening. And all this in under an hour. Barnes carefully reveals his character’s depth as Clay’s own poetry unfolds. The suggestion that the character is a black Baudelaire, cruelly dismissed by Lula, comes to reverberate through the text in a fascinating manner that Barnes always factors in. 

Kaitlin Argeaux, working with associate director Sheila Nortley, aids the central performers with a tightly controlled ensemble who make up other passengers. There are moments when you just pity them for being in the same carriage. And the role played by these fellow travellers in the shocking conclusion is, at least to me, a step too far. Dutchman is a piece crammed with argument and fuelled by an anger that doesn’t make it clear or easy. It’s so dense it becomes a text to read as much as a play to see. It’s only the strong performances that ensure this is a production worth watching.

Until 26 October 2019

www.actorscentre.co.uk/theatre

Photo by Diana Patient

2019

"Mites" at the Tristan Bates Theatre

James Mannion’s neat new play succeeds on two fronts. As the story of Ruth and her mental breakdown, it’s a boldly irreverent take on psychosis that, with trippy touches, takes the audience up close to paranoia. Abandoned by her husband, and living in designer Cecilia Trono’s creepily dirty set, Ruth’s treatment by the men in her life provides a sub text with risqué humour. Secondly, Mites is a dark, absurdist comedy: as Ruth chats with her (talking) cat and mistakes a murderous pest control officer for her husband, the plot is full of impossibilities, with jokes that entertain as much as raise questions. The play is crazy all around and mightily good for just that reason. 

There’s a recklessness to the humour here that belies Mannion’s skill and the precision of his director Marcus Marsh. It’s a joy to hear how cleverly the oddly antiquated language is used (one of my favourites is the neglected word hullabaloo), while Marsh’s control over the action, quite literally in terms of keeping movement in check, is superb. For all the antics, there’s restraint. It would be too easy to run around shouting, but Mites isn’t a farce – the humour is original and bold with its own distinct pace.

George Howard and Claire Marie Hall in "Mites"
George Howard and Claire Marie Hall

You can see this control in the performances, too. Take George Howard’s Ken – the true psychopath here. He’s an opportunist at first and his rambling lies (yes, they do include a rhinoceros) are delivered with such charm as to make him almost appealing. In the play’s central, and craziest, scene – I won’t spoil the surprise – we see Howard take on another bonkers role with great skill.

Richard Henderson and Claire Marie Hall in "Mites"
Richard Henderson and Claire Marie Hall

With the other two roles, a query nags over the casting. Although I should stress that the performers do a great job, there’s a suspicion that both characters should be played much older. Richard Henderson is brilliantly dead pan as Bartholomew ‘the cat’ and is equally skilled in a second identity. And Claire Marie Hall is excellent in the lead role: good at creating sympathy for Ruth and fantastic when it comes to suggesting a darker edge to the part. But, with more than a few references to age, bolstered by a morbid streak in the piece, it seems a missed opportunity not to have senior performers on board. It’s easy to see how several scenes, especially Mannion’s pointed notes on misogyny (so frequently linked to age), could benefit. You may think that a performer’s date of birth is a moot point. But it’s exciting to note how an already strong play could have easily been made even more provocative. Mites has legs – lots of them – and I urge you to catch it.

Until 26 October 2019

www.actorscentre.co.uk

Photos by Lidia Crisafulli

2019

"Peter Gynt" at the National Theatre

Maybe it’s Ibsen’s status as a playwright, or the position of this work in theatre history, but Peer Gynt has a special place in the canon. This is the play’s third outing on the South Bank – and it even has its own sculpture park in Oslo! Based on a folk tale (surely a take on the Everyman story), this life story over 40 scenes cares little about the practicalities of staging. Taking in tall tales and the supernatural, much of what happens is downright crazy. While Ibsen’s ambition is clearly inspiring, and it can be interesting to see how theatre makers deal with it, the vision itself is not. The relentlessly imparted messages mix wisdom with humour and anger in a manic fashion. It’s a bit like being shouted at. And, over three-and-a-half hours, being shouted at for a long time.

Everything in Peer Gynt has a meaning, with its symbols and metaphors continually highlighted. This becomes draining. David Hare’s version works hard to tackle the didactic style with self-conscious awareness and injects a considerable energy. Setting the action in Scotland (the show is co-produced by the Edinburgh International Festival) is used to good effect. Updating the play to the present day leads to even more laughs. But the satire, while a good way of handling Ibsen’s misanthropy, doesn’t contain any surprises. Perhaps real politics are too crazy to keep up with, but casting Peter as a Donald Trump figure or calling the World Economic Forum hypocritical seem too tame.

Ann Louise Ross and James McArdle in "Peter Gynt" at the National Theatre
Ann Louise Ross and James McArdle

Director Jonathan Kent also does an excellent job of making the action interesting. There are even a few songs thrown in to keep us on our toes. Richard Hudson’s design is full of appropriately quirky touches and video work from Dick Straker is strong (especially in a shipwreck scene). The massive cast is handled expertly and there are some great performances: Tamsin Carroll stands out as the Troll Princess, while Guy Henry and Oliver Ford Davies, whose roles as The Weird Passenger and The Button Moulder rank as similarly bizarre, bring a sense of ease to the stage. Yet it’s really only Ann Louise Ross as Peter’s mother who has a substantial character and leaves an impression – which goes to show how much the play relies on its central performer.

James McArdle in "Peter Gynt" at the National Theatre
James McArdle

James McArdle steps into the well-travelled shoes as Peter/Peer. He is excellent. Technically, he can hold the massive Olivier auditorium and his physical fitness, running around all the time and barely off stage, is impressive. He handles his character’s ageing with a light touch that indicates his justified confidence. Best of all, he injects a warmth into Peter that keeps you watching. From the start, driven by anger and ego, McArdle brings out the character’s humanity, distracting from the many abstractions in the play. Peter is a unique hero, who we follow despite his many unattractive qualities. This production is as entertaining as you could wish for, and it really is a star performance from McArdle. But it’s still difficult to understand the play’s strange hold over the theatre.

Until 8 October 2019

www.nationaltheatre.org.uk

Photos by Manuel Harlan

2019

"Black Chiffon" at the Park Theatre

A big hit back in 1949, this psychological drama by Lesley Storm has been revived by director Clive Brill. It’s a quality production and the writing of a high standard. But there’s no escaping that this is a period piece with ideas trapped in their own time.

When a well-off housewife becomes a petty thief a “mind specialist” is called in to help with her legal defence. As a whydunit, it’s an effective premise, if a little simple, and Sharp gives us a close study of family friction that’s nicely delivered by Jack Staddon and Eva Feiler as the son and daughter. It turns out the former is “locked together emotionally” with his mother, a position both were driven to by a jealous patriarch. As the wicked father figure, Ian Kelly has a good go, but the “frightening presence” he is supposed to have cast over wife and son isn’t convincing – he is too sorry a figure to have caused much tension.

Ian Kelly and Abigail Cruttenden in "Black Chiffon" at the Park Theatre
Ian Kelly and Abigail Cruttenden

There’s a lot of RP accents and stiff upper lips (all delivered well) that raise smiles surely not intended by Storm. But that isn’t the big problem. The encounters between our nouveau klepto Alicia and her doctor, handled spryly enough by Nicholas Murchie, are focal points that prove myopic. A diagnosis of empty-nest syndrome is arrived at ridiculously quickly. Psychiatrists as all-seeing saviours may have been novel for Storm’s audience, but the idea just seems odd nowadays. A further twist, motivated by Alicia’s will to sacrifice herself for her family, comes as no surprise. It’s not so much an upper-middle-class obsession with privacy as the doctor’s admiration of such that seems silly.

Unless you’re particularly interested in post-war theatre Black Chiffon only has one big attraction: a star turn from Abigail Cruttenden in the lead role. She gives Alicia a dignity that’s believable and makes you care about the character. Better still, she is wonderfully natural; understated yet emotionally intense, with period touches kept under control. There are tricks here that many a performer in an historical drama could learn from and, although it’s a close call, Cruttenden makes the show worth seeing.

Until 12 October 2019

www.ParkTheatre.co.uk

Photos by Mark Douet

2019

"Faith, Hope and Charity" at the National Theatre

Faith is missing. She’s a four-year old girl taken from her unstable mother and desperate older brother, brilliantly portrayed by Susan Lynch and Bobby Stallwood, in Alexander Zeldin’s new play. The heavy irony – that Faith never appears – sets the tone for this bleak piece, and there’s a sinking feeling throughout this painful look at the most vulnerable in our society.

Faith is present in one sense, as Zeldin places a lot of it in his audience’s patience. Directing his own work, the pace here is glacial: there’s little action, plenty of random conversations and, since the setting is a soup kitchen, lots of cooking and eating. I attended just after the press night and, regrettably, more than a few people left at the interval. But the verisimilitude achieved by all the detail here is remarkable. With the aid of Natasha Jenkins’ design and some marvellous lighting from Marc Williams, many of the short lines and tiny actions bring a tear to the eye. It isn’t easy viewing, but Zeldin’s bravery at demanding such patience creates powerful theatre.

Cecilia Noble and Nick Holder in 'Faith, Hope and Charity' at the National Theatre
Cecilia Noble and Nick Holder

Hope comes in the form of Mason, a role that Nick Holder makes his own. A volunteer with the choir at the community centre, he talks of “growth” and tries so hard to help it’s impossible not to adore him. Holder carefully hints at his character’s vulnerability from the start and, when we learn how damaged he really is (in a scene where both Holder and Lynch shine), the pain is raw. Although a leader for the group, Mason has as many problems as any of them and, as we see each of ensemble try so desperately to help – when they are so ill-equipped to do so – the play becomes heart-wrenching. The tiny gestures of concern and all the courtesy (I’ve never heard the word “sorry” spoken so many times in one play) are overwhelming as the problems each person faces are revealed. Alan Williams’ performance, as the eccentric Bernard, has to be highlighted: as the character sinks (there’s that word again) into dementia it becomes clearer how alone and helpless he is. The truth is that these people, each depicted so carefully by the ensemble, don’t have a chance in our society.

Alan Williams in 'Faith, Hope and Charity' at the National Theatre
Alan Williams

The neglect in Austerity Britain is all the crueller when it comes to what Zeldin sees as the greatest of these virtues. Charity defines the role of Hazel (Cecilia Noble), the manager and chef at the centre. It’s clear that she is an ideal for all these people, but the character is grounded by Noble, who makes no end of self-sacrifice believable. As the pressure mounts, in her personal life and over the future of the crumbling building, Noble’s performance goes from strength to strength. The achievements of Hazel and Mason, keeping people fed and arranging a small singing concert, aren’t small. But it’s no plot spoiler to say that Zeldin can’t give us a happy ending. Hazel hasn’t sung for years and, when she joins the ‘choir’, the result is a painful cry for help that confirms the play as a damning indictment of our times.

Until 12 October 2019

nationaltheatre.org.uk

Photos by Sarah Lee

2019

"Anna Bella Eema" at the Arcola Theatre

While firmly rooted in the tradition of fairy tales, this 2007 piece, from experimental theatre maker Lisa D’Amour, balances magic and madness with startling originality. It will not be to all tastes, but the complexity and ambition of the text demand respect.

In a trailer park facing demolition, the housebound Irene and her daughter Annabella are joined by the title character, a golem that the youngster creates as she begins puberty. Both of the human characters tell stories that start out whacky and become truly insane. Their small world is crowded with monsters and metamorphosis. Mental illness is a topic the audience is challenged into addressing: someone should help this family… shouldn’t they? And there’s another ‘M’ – motherhood – packing the play’s emotional punch and, for my money, producing its finest moments. Many of the tales told are funny, a few provide insight into the real world and some are frustratingly opaque.

Adding to the bizarre feel, there’s a cappella singing, and percussion from kitchen equipment, with a score by Chris Sidorfsky that matches D’Amour’s otherworldly interests. You don’t often get a lullaby for a lycanthrope, after all. 

Beverly Rudd as Irene in Anna Bella Eema at the Arcola Theatre
Beverly Rudd

As you can guess, nothing here is easy for the talented trio performing. The wonderful Beverly Rudd leads the way, grounding the show as a charismatic agoraphobic. The daughter is played by Gabrielle Brooks, who gives a tremendous performance as a young girl old before her time. Brooks’ suggestions of the wild, that D’Amour becomes fixated with, are superb. By no means least, Natasha Cottriall performs as the mythic creation, along with many smaller roles, bringing grace as well as ethereal vocals to the show.

Performing actions as they narrate them makes the demands on all the actors heavier – a lot of what occurs is supernatural – which is where director Jessica Lazar really shines. With a text that’s as much a poem as a play, it takes a close study to aid the audience and I, for one, am grateful that Lazar allows us time to absorb some of what is on offer.

Because Anna Bella Eemareally does have a lot going on, and not just in terms of topics: the imagery is wonderfully rich, the ground covered metaphorically immense and D’Amour’s imagination awe-inspiring. The perspectives that the author describes as “prismatic” in her introduction make the play a mind boggler from the beginning. And we’re warned by Irene that time and reality merge in her trailer – there’s a lot of this. 

By the time we get to a dream sequence for Annabella – with racoons, foxes and wolves – the show is in danger of becoming repetitive and exhausting. In the finale, the impact of reality is little explored, making the ending for Annabella unclear. Asking a lot from an audience is an author’s prerogative. But there’s surely an irony that, unlike the fairy tales that are such an inspiration, regrettably, this show lacks universal appeal.

Until 12 October 2019

www.arcolatheatre.com

Photos by Holly Revell

2019

"Conspiracy" at the New Diorama Theatre

A hit at the Edinburgh Festival and the winner of an Untapped Award, Barrel Organ’s new piece is a comedy gem. With three fantastic performers, a topic ripe for satire is handled with wit and intelligence in a show full of surprises.

Rose Wardlaw takes the lead. As the audience sits in on a presentation about a famous photograph, she’s brilliant at muttering asides, her character too uptight for her own good. The picture hides a conspiracy that just keeps on growing – to Wardlaw’s exasperation. As the project gets more ridiculous, ignoring efforts at serious research, she gets funnier and funnier.

Azan Ahmed is the first to elaborate a further conspiracy. With a penchant for movie quotes, his character is downright sweet, and it seems cruel to laugh at his enthusiasm. The gullible energy and sheer joy at thinking he has discovered something new is utterly convincing and Ahmet manages to convert these qualities into something more serious as the action develops.

By the time we get to Shannon Hayes, we are in spoof territory. It isn’t a plot spoiler to say that the moon landings make an appearance. Best of all is the Elvis impersonation from Hayes, who gradually increases the mania in her performance with skilful calculation. It turns out she’s been playing a different game, the precursor for which is a streak of mischief that has added to the fun all along.

Devised by the company, with a text from Jack Perrin, pretending the trio are amateurs is a great idea to get a lot of laughs. Of course, delivering such fumbling around is tricky stuff and Dan Hutton’s direction is really as pin sharp as you could wish. The only problem – clearly indicated – is that conspiracy theories don’t finish, they just get bigger.

Trying to be serious too close to the end of the show seems a mistake. And a final tableau, where the characters inhabit their fantasy (well, that’s my guess anyway), proves too strange a change of key. Both give rise to the suspicion that the team didn’t quite know how to end things. I’ve no proof of that, of course – maybe photos or recordings of rehearsals will surface? Maybe someone overhead something? There must be a reason… Still, nothing can detract from a whole-hearted recommendation for a show that shouldn’t be kept a secret.

Until 5 October 2019

www.newdiorama.com

2019

“What Girls Are Made Of” at the Soho Theatre

Many dream of being a rock star at some point in their youth but for Cora Bissett, when just out of school in Fife, it actually happened. Her band, Darlingheart, had a contract and backed big Britpop names…for a short time at least. This play looks back at that success, and its consequences, using Bissett’s diaries. With the help of musicians Emma Smith, Simon Donaldson and Harry Ward, who brilliantly take on cameo roles as well as accompanying her, Bissett sings and narrates her biography like a true star.

It turns out that the big break came at a high cost. And since this is real life on stage, the price is prosaic and predictable; the band work hard and are ripped off. They split up and attempts at a new direction for Bissett fail; she ends up broke and busking, feeling a failure twice over. This is not a new tale for creative folk. And Bissett’s own editing, alighting on moments of personal significance, leads to a disjointed feel to the action that could be fine tuned. Thankfully, Bissett’s telling saves the show. With some neat theatrical touches from director Orlan O’Loughlin, and strong sound design from Michael John McCarthy, the winning tone throughout is of warmth and honesty; mistakes so freely admitted are easy to forgive.

While Bissett’s aim to is explain what made her the woman she is today – her family as much as her career, a task achieved with moving integrity – we could do with seeing more of her in the present. The more recent story of her finding love and being a mother as well as taking control of her creativity could be elaborated on. For the truth is that Bissett gets more interesting as she grows up. Less of the nostalgia and more of what she she wants for her and her child’s future would be welcome. The success of the show at the Edinburgh Festival and a world tour show that Bissett has enormous appeal as a performer. As the rousing final number proves, forget young dreams;  it’s right now that Bissett is really cool.

Until 28 September 2019

www.sohotheatre.com

Photo by Mihaela Bodlovic

2019

"Eigengrau" at Waterloo East Theatre

This welcome revival of an early work by Penelope Skinner, which premiered in 2010 at The Bush, boasts an excellent cast and strong direction from Georgie Staight. It’s a text that’s difficult to pin down – playing with the audience while making serious points – and Staight appreciates the piece’s changes of tempo. There are laughs, handled well by the cast, as well as plenty of ideas and gruesome moments that require a strong stomach. All in all, Eigengrau ends up a challenge, but the play and this production are a definite go-see.

Skinner sets up some straw men and women for us to meet. It’s pretty easy to get a laugh out of them… but it’s still funny. There’s feminist Cassie and her new flatmate “off Gumtree” Rose, the latter’s one-night stand, smarmy successful Mark, and his school chum Tim, who isn’t doing so well. The cast take it all in their stride, with Staight controlling some of the exaggerations. Isabella Della-Porta makes a believable activist, you admire her convictions, while George Fletcher’s marketing man Mark is suitably revolting! The satire is almost genial, a kind of comedy of matters, with points about modern life to debate during after-show drinks. Given the seriousness of some topics, it’s more fun than it should be.

Katie Buchholz and Callum Sharp in Eigengrau at the Waterloo East Theatre
Katie Buchholz and Callum Sharp

As the play’s title, which refers to the colours seen when the eyes are closed, indicates, there’s darkness, too. It comes from the unexpected source of hippyish Rose, superbly performed by Katie Buchholz, who has even painted her toe nails in character. At first, Rose is enormous fun, Skinner makes you laugh at her even if it is cruel. But Cassie’s observation that Rose “scares me” brings forward the text’s mental health issues. Romantic obsession is only part of Rose’s fantasy life; her lack of vision, endearing at times, becomes dangerous. By the end of the play, it’s an open question as to how much the seemingly sweet Tim – with a professional debut in the role that Callum Sharp should be proud of – succumbs to Rose’s flights of fancy.

Eigengrau gets bleak quickly in the second act. There are loose threads: Skinner is heavy handed at times, the “happy ending” too double-edged. Above all, the sexual submission from both female characters is not for the faint-hearted. Be warned. Without spoilers, Cassie’s disappointments in life are painful (and well delivered by Della-Porta). As for Rose, who becomes a twisted Cinderella stand-in for her own fairy tale; never mind the shoe she loses, what she does with the one left is awful. Intrigued? I hope so – this is a play and production that should be seen by many.

Until 22 September 2019

www.waterlooeast.co.uk

Photos by Lidia Crisafulli