BITTER LEMONS at Park Theatre

★★★½

“The imagery is striking evoked and passionately told”

Bitter Lemons follows two women’s intertwining narratives as they ready themselves for a vital moment in their careers, and a big personal decision.

After a successful run at Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2023, the show has revived the same team for a London run. It bills itself as an issue play, centring around one moment in these women’s lives, but in many ways that detracts from the message of the piece.

We follow two women – Angelina (Shannon Hayes) and AJ (Chanel Waddock). AJ is a professional goalie and the ‘tart of the team’. Meanwhile Angelina is firmly implanted in the corporate world, having to prove to colleagues, clients and her own boyfriend that she is more than a diversity hire. The stories are superficially different, but connect and intersect throughout.

Writer and director Lucy Hayes’ script blends theatre and prose poetry. The imagery is striking evoked and passionately told. It is at its best when it weaves between the stories, allowing the characters to fly in quick fire entangled prose. But it also has a distancing effect, at times keeping the audience at arm’s length.

The script and performance is at the core of this piece, but Hayes’ direction allows these two aspects centre stage. Some muddied physical theatre does little to add to the atmosphere, but the staging is thoughtful, especially given the parallel narratives.

Chanel Waddock has a powerful physicality, blending comedy and poignancy while retaining a grounded stage presence. Shannon Hayes has excellent comic timing and a strong connection with the audience.

Hattie North’s sound design is throbbingly atmospheric. Creating both internal and external worlds through sound she gives the piece an urgent and purposeful pulse.

The set (Roisin Martindale) which has changed slightly from the Finge, is baffling until the final scene. For me, it wasn’t worth it for the reveal, but with a plastic backdrop curtain, blue Lino flooring and mirrored blocks it has a simple but clean feeling.

The show is quite busy. A lot of ideas are thrown around, and the women’s lives feel at times used to tick boxes of on trend messaging. There are some powerful moments but a lot of the ideas and commentary feels a little familiar. Splitting the narrative makes both stories feel a little undercooked and simplistic, with the characters feeling less well developed than they otherwise could have.

BITTER LEMONS at Park Theatre

Reviewed on 30th August 2024

by Auriol Reddaway

Photography by Alex Brenner

Previously reviewed at this venue:

WHEN IT HAPPENS TO YOU | ★★★★★ | August 2024

THE MARILYN CONSPIRACY | ★★★★ | June 2024

IVO GRAHAM: CAROUSEL | ★★★★ | June 2024

A SINGLE MAN | ★★★★ | May 2024

SUN BEAR | ★★★ | April 2024

HIDE AND SEEK | ★★★★ | March 2024

COWBOYS AND LESBIANS | ★★★★ | February 2024

HIR | ★★★★ | February 2024

LEAVES OF GLASS | ★★★★ | January 2024

KIM’S CONVENIENCE | ★★★★ | January 2024

BITTER LEMONS

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★★★

“There are some lovely moments in this one woman show, but it doesn’t quite get below the surface of the subject matter”

This endearing exploration of a teenage football fan’s identity ultimately feels a little toothless.

Lizzie is an English Coventry supporter. But she’s also half Scottish, and half Indian, and a 13-year-old girl in a very white town in 1996. These parts of her identity clash together, as she struggles to find her place as an atypical football fan.

The premise is clear but the story goes exactly the way you’d expect. Hannah Kumari’s script is littered with 1990s references, from CK1 perfume to a dance number from the U.K.’s ‘96 Eurovision entry. It’s grounded in its world, but the decision to set it in this era feels a little random and does nothing to avoid inevitable Bend it Like Beckham comparisons.

Nikhita Lesler’s performance is charming, but its peppy naivety leaves little room for the introspection which might bring more depth and complexity to the show. There is a warmth to her performance though, which sets the tone and means the play isn’t overwhelmingly bleak. Equally, it makes it feel tame.

This is amplified by Max Lindsay’s direction which lacks any pause for reflection. There’s a gut punching revelation, which isn’t quite earned in the general tone up until then and so somehow feels like a cheap reveal. The range of characters, and caricatures, is deftly handled, and there are some witty moments as Lizzie struggles around other people in her life. There are also some genuinely moving moments, but the strongest are when Lizzie interacts with others, rather than her slightly forced audience asides.

The play is produced by FSA and Fans for Diversity which explains why there are moments that feel like an advert for watching football. There’s a nod to the future, to 2024 when football culture (especially women’s football culture) has changed. I would’ve been more interested to see a contemporary take on this story and look at how much it really has changed for this character to go to football games, given the game is still so interlinked with racism and nationalism.

There are some lovely moments in this one woman show, but it doesn’t quite get below the surface of the subject matter. It’s sweet, and charming, but a little empty.

BITTER LEMONS at Park Theatre

★★★½

“The imagery is striking evoked and passionately told”

BITTER LEMONS at Park Theatre

Reviewed on 30th August 2024

by Auriol Reddaway

Photography by Alex Brenner

Previously reviewed at this venue:

BITTER LEMONS

BITTER LEMONS

ENG-ER-LAND at the King’s Head Theatre

★★★

“There are some lovely moments in this one woman show, but it doesn’t quite get below the surface of the subject matter”

ENG-ER-LAND at the King’s Head Theatre

Reviewed on 31st July 2024

by Auriol Reddaway

Photography by Jack Jeffreys

Previously reviewed at this venue:

ENG-ER-LAND

ENG-ER-LAND