Tag Archives: Anna Crichlow

TESS

★★★★

UK Tour

TESS

New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth

★★★★

“The direction is expertly crafted, ensuring that every movement and physical interaction serves a purpose”

Ockham’s Razor has achieved something extraordinary with Tess, a bold and breath-taking adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles that fuses theatre, movement, and contemporary circus to re-imagine Hardy’s 1891 tragic novel. Through inventive staging and visceral physicality, the company distils this tale of endurance, injustice, and resilience into something immediate and deeply affecting.

The story follows Tess Durbeyfield, a young woman from a poor rural family who is sent to seek kinship with the wealthy D’Urbervilles after her father learns of their supposed aristocratic lineage. There, she falls prey to the manipulative Alec D’Urberville, an event that alters her life forever. Seeking a fresh start, she later finds love with the idealistic Angel Clare, but when he learns of her past, his rejection leaves her struggling to survive in a world that offers her little compassion. As Tess fights against the rigid moral codes of Victorian society, she finds herself once more in Alec’s grasp, leading to a final desperate act that seals her fate.

The striking set design of shifting wooden planks, towering walls, and billowing linen is integral to the storytelling, creating a constantly evolving landscape that mirrors Tess’s emotional and physical journey. The performers interact seamlessly with their surroundings, swinging, climbing, and manipulating the set with an urgency that reflects her struggles. Production designer Tina Bicât keeps the staging simple yet evocative, while Aideen Malone’s lighting and Daniel Denton’s projections shift fluidly to enhance the ever-changing atmosphere.

The cast of seven deliver extraordinary performances, both physically and emotionally. Tess is portrayed by two performers: Lila Naruse, who serves as the narrator, recounting her story with a soft West Country lilt while slipping in and out of dialogue, and Anna Crichlow, who embodies Tess’s physical journey through movement, expressing her emotions with acrobatics and dance. Their dual performance is quietly powerful with one Tess speaking, while the other relives events with no ability to change them. A particularly moving moment comes when one Tess reaches out to hold the other’s hand in silent support, reinforcing the sense of inevitability that haunts her story.

The predatory Alec D’Urberville is played with an unsettling charisma by Joshua Frazer, while Angel Clare is brought to life with both idealism and naivety by Nat Whittingham, making his betrayal all the more painful. Both actors also take on ensemble roles, and particularly in Frazer’s case, it is striking to see how posture, movement, and a quick costume change transform him from one of Tess’s mischievous younger siblings into a predatory seducer.

Lauren Jamieson, Victoria Skillen, and Leah Wallings play multiple roles throughout, from the romping Durbeyfield children to barroom brawlers, but particularly shine in two comedic sequences as the trio of dairymaids vying for Angel’s attention.

The adaptation, by directors Alex Harvey and Charlotte Mooney, streamlines the novel’s plot while maintaining its emotional depth. Tess’s journey is strikingly depicted, for instance, her initial trip to the D’Urbervilles sees her navigating an intricate sequence of angled planks, with projected mountain ranges behind her emphasising the sheer scale of her world. This is later mirrored when she flees from Alec, retracing her route backwards, a breathtakingly choreographed sequence performed in reverse that heightens the sense of her desperation.

One of the production’s most visually powerful moments comes during Alec’s seduction of Tess, represented through a Cyr wheel routine. What starts as a peacocking display of skill becomes something darker as Alec lures Tess into his orbit, quite literally drawing her into his circle, trapping her. Their final encounter, which drives Tess to flee, is almost unseen, shrouded in darkness and accompanied by an unsettling soundscape. With one Tess watching helplessly as events unfold, reinforcing how ingeniously this dual portrayal captures the inevitability of her fate.

The direction is expertly crafted, ensuring that every movement and physical interaction serves a purpose. The integration of circus arts is not just for spectacle but a vital storytelling tool, making Tess’s struggles feel immediate and visceral. The music and sound design by Holly Khan further heighten the drama, weaving folk-inspired melodies with an atmospheric score that underscores Tess’s emotional journey. The costumes, designed by Bicât, balance historical authenticity with functionality, allowing the performers full range of movement while remaining firmly rooted in Hardy’s world.

This production masterfully transforms Hardy’s prose into something immediate and deeply affecting, distilling its themes of power, privilege, consent, and female agency (or lack thereof) in a way that still resonates today. Through bold direction, inventive staging, and an emotionally rich interpretation, Tess proves that even the darkest of literary classics can be re-imagined with breath-taking vitality.



TESS

New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth then UK Tour continues

Reviewed on 25th February 2025

by Ellen Cheshire

Photography by Kie Cummings

 

 

 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST | ★★★★ | December 2024

 

Tess

Tess

Tess

The Last Noël

★★★★

Merton Arts Space

The Last Noël

The Last Noël

Merton Arts Space

Reviewed – 28th November 2019

★★★★

 

“a wholesome tale filled with festive spirit”

 

The Last Noël is a play that feels cosy and comforting from the get go. Before the main event starts, viewers are offered a biscuit and asked to join in a rousing carol to set the mood. The atmosphere here is clear – welcome to a familiar and festive world for the next hour or so.

The story revolves (as you could argue most people’s Christmases do) around relatives gathering together over unnecessary amounts of food and drink. Our trio of characters make up three generations of the same family, each bringing their own quirks to the table. Alice (played with immense charm by Annie Wensak) is the effervescently kind matriarch – keeper of the feast, and the rules. She is joined by her son Mike (Dyfrig Morris), prone to jokes and light-hearted bickering, who is uncle to Tess (Anna Crichlow) – a returning uni student seeking to make her way in the world.

United by memories, merriment, and the anticipation of the holiday season, the three await the arrival of Tess’s parents, who are both busy healthcare workers, and tell stories to pass the time. While at first the script and its jokes (Chris Bush) are perhaps a bit reliant on hackneyed observations and generational clichés – grandma doesn’t understand Twitter, aren’t Stag Dos silly, etc. – the humour warms up as the play gets going and there are some genuinely funny moments. And it is clear that the humour and references are intended to be kept simple and universal, to be enjoyed by a variety of age groups.

Punctuating the action are a few musical flourishes performed by musical director Matt Winkworth on the keyboard. The actors sometimes perform full length songs (again written by Chris Bush) or snippets of Christmas favourites with adapted lyrics, all woven fairly seamlessly into the dialogue. While none of these stand out on their own, they wrap the whole performance in a joyful atmosphere. The setting is in the round and director Jonathan Humphreys and movement director Annie-Lunnette Deakin-Foster work well with this, making it reminiscent of the traditional storytelling methods of old, when people would have gathered around hearths. As each character puts their own spin on recognisable tales, they bring more emotional depth to the play than might at first have been expected.

For some it might be oversentimental – and the themes and the content can hardly be called radically original – but it is hard to rate a show badly when it oozes so much warmth. All in all, The Last Noël is a wholesome tale filled with festive spirit.

 

Reviewed by Vicky Richards

 

The Last Noël

Merton Arts Space until 1st December

 

Other reviews by Vicky Richards:
Vice | ★★½ | Etcetera Theatre | July 2019
The Starship Osiris | ★★★★★ | Soho Theatre | August 2019
Call Me Fury | ★★★ | Hope Theatre | September 2019
The Strange Case Of Jekyll & Hyde | ★★★★★ | Jack Studio Theatre | September 2019
Zeus On The Loose | ★★½ | Fire | September 2019
Edred, The Vampyre | ★★★½ | Old Red Lion Theatre | October 2019
The Girl Who Fell | ★★★★ | Trafalgar Studios | October 2019

 

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