BLOOD WEDDING

Omnibus Theatre

★★★★

“The dynamics are beautifully conveyed by the actors in wonderfully genuine performances”

One of the most telling lines in Barney Norris’ adaptation of Lorca’s “Blood Wedding” is when the young bride, Georgie proclaims ‘I can’t remember what’s good about me’. The mix of fear and confusion in the eyes epitomises not just Nell Williams’ extraordinary performance, but also the nature of the play in which we are repeatedly taken aback by powerful moments of poignancy that burst through the comedic surface. It is a multi-layered piece that brings Lorca’s tragedy right up to date into a very relatable English rural setting. We are in a Wiltshire village on the edge of Salisbury Plain. A seemingly ordinary backwater peopled by everyday characters. Don’t be fooled. Alex Marker’s realistic set places the action around the back of a village hall, but we are somehow thrown into the world of folklore too.

Georgie and Rob (Christopher Neenan) are checking out the slightly run-down venue for their wedding reception. Rob’s mother, Helen (Alix Dunmore), is tagging along, anxious to convey her misgivings about the whole affair. The dynamics are beautifully conveyed by the actors in wonderfully genuine performances that match the natural flow of the dialogue. There is much humour, but small details and verbal tics hint at the darkness that is to come. Director Tricia Thorns is very in tune with the subtleties, often allowing the characters to look out to the audience yet still staying within their own world.

Neenan’s Rob is a delight. With his soft West Country accent, his instantly loveable personality has a simplicity and honesty that Williams’ gently mocking Georgie cannot resist. Nor can we as we root for this couple, despite the protestations of Helen and her severe abandonment complex. Dunmore can switch between caring mother and prophet of doom with remarkable ease while displaying the guilt of not imposing either with enough force. Enter Brian, the village hall’s caretaker. Initially hilarious, his role develops into that of the all-seeing sage. A remarkable performance from David Fielder that shifts into the surreal as he takes on the spiritual symbolism of Lorca’s original text, leading us dramatically towards the bloody and disturbing climax.

But before we get there, we meet Georgie’s old schoolfriend, Danni (Esme Lonsdale) and her bad-boy, Irish traveller husband Lee (Kiefer Moriarty). Lee is Georgie’s ex, and because he reappears on the day of Georgie’s wedding, we can’t help but get a sense of what is coming, whether we are familiar with Lorca’s play or not. Lonsdale gives a real strength to Danni, ably standing up to Moriarty’s slightly unconvincing menace. One of the few inconsistencies of the piece comes with the nagging disbelief that Georgie would be prepared to flee her own wedding and run off with Lee.

Fielder’s Brian tells us that ‘there is more to me than meets the eye’. A statement that can describe this play. The powerful shift in mood and style in the second act could easily have jarred, but in the hands of this talented company it is impressive, and Fielder comes to the fore with a commanding potency. The tears he has in his eyes towards the end seem genuine, and we are impelled to join him. The final epilogue, set a year after the events, is in danger of unnecessarily dragging out the ending, but it neatly sews up of the threads of the story. A tale of the fears and dreams, not just of the newly wed protagonists, but of all of us. Barney Norris has said that he wanted to build a new kind of mythology with this adaptation, particularly to the part of England where he has set the narrative. On that level he succeeds, but his play also has the gift to entertain which, in turn, is a real gift for the audience.

BLOOD WEDDING

Omnibus Theatre

Reviewed on 2nd May 2025

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Phil Gammon

Previously reviewed at this venue:

THE GUEST | ★★★★★ | April 2025

VANYA IS ALIVE | ★★★★ | February 2025

THE ICE AT THE END OF THE WORLD | ★★★★ | September 2024

MY LIFE AS A COWBOY | ★★★ | August 2024

HASBIAN | ★★★★ | June 2024

COMPOSITOR E | ★★★ | September 2023

BLOOD WEDDING

★★

“Family sagas are a well-trodden path, but this incarnation fails to add anything new to the genre”

“Out of Step” is UnTied Productions’ debut play, about a dysfunctional stepfamily who are saying goodbye to their family home. Founded by actor Esme Lonsdale and writer Eddie Palmer, the independent theatre company can definitely be applauded for their vision, energy and commitment. Born of the ethos of taking control rather than waiting for work to come to you, they’ve certainly worked hard, with more dash than cash, in selling out this small run at the Drayton Arms Theatre.

The seven strong cast, which includes Lonsdale, comprise a band of like-minded actors that mirrors the ensemble nature of the piece. Set in real time it explores the rivalry amongst an unconventional family, at the head of which are Julia (Louise Tozer) and Jonathan (Brian Marks) who are unsuccessfully trying to hold their motley crew of offspring together and to themselves – a task exacerbated by the constant juggling of remembering who is stepfamily, and who is bona fide flesh and blood (hence the title).

Family sagas are a well-trodden path, but this incarnation fails to add anything new to the genre. Whilst it gets off to a promising start (the ‘shocking plot twist’, as plugged in all the promotional copy, comes at the beginning) it rapidly runs aground and never moves forward. We never really learn why the family are being forced to abandon their home; beyond the mention of rising mortgage rates. This typifies the whole show in that we are frustrated by the shallow gouging of material that could otherwise offer such rich pickings. Instead we are presented with sugary stock characters, fudged comedy and stodgy dialogue that has the feel of an extended impro exercise. Palmer’s writing skirts the real issues as it tries to serve each sibling’s particular grievance. But you can’t please everyone all of the time, as they say, and this could have benefitted from a narrower focus.

Under Hamish Clayton’s agile direction, the action does move at a steady pace, but is too often slowed down by the gear-crunching delivery by the cast. Individually their uncertainty stalls our ability to connect or care, but collectively there really just isn’t enough spark to ignite any real interest at all. Towards the end of the second act, though, there are moments of fire. Yet rather than burning with high emotion the cast settle for shrill histrionics.

The ambition of ‘UnTied Productions’ cannot be faulted, but this is not the show that will lead to their aspirations being fully realised.

Reviewed by Jonathan Evans

Tag Archives: Esme Lonsdale

BLOOD WEDDING

★★★★

Omnibus Theatre

BLOOD WEDDING

Omnibus Theatre

★★★★

“The dynamics are beautifully conveyed by the actors in wonderfully genuine performances”