★★★★

“explores themes such as austerity, immigration, suicide and depression in a sensitive, thought-provoking way”

Set in South Wales on the eve of the demolition of the last factory in town, Exodus follows four friends as they build a plane in order to escape their town in search of a better life. Although, for the most part, a humorous play, Exodus explores themes such as austerity, immigration, suicide and depression in a sensitive, thought-provoking way.

Characters include Mary (Gwenllian Higginson), Ray (Liam Tobin), Gareth (Berwyn Pearce) and Timmy (Karim Bedda). Tobin and Pearce provide the majority of the comedy in the show, as Ray and Gareth, bouncing off each other well. They can have a tendency to be slightly overpowering and loud in the small theatre space, but it can’t be denied that both actors bring high levels of enthusiasm to their roles. Bedda portrays Timmy, a refugee who never speaks, but is a talented violinist, showing this by frequently performing live throughout the play. Whilst the other three characters are able to express themselves through speech, Bedda effectively performs through the playing of his instrument, which acts as his character’s voice and story.

Running alongside the plot of the building of the plane and preparations for the flight is Mary’s individual story, depicting town life and the struggles faced. Higginson does a fantastic job of engaging the audience throughout and is able to display a range of emotions extremely well. The transitions between the scenes with all four actors to Higginson’s monologues are seamless, with the remaining actors sitting down in sync and staring ahead, motionless. This adds to our engagement with what the character of Mary goes on to say and allows our focus to be solely on her.

Movement, directed by Emma Vickery, is brilliantly executed. A particular highlight is a sequence in which the group undertake “training” to deal with the possibility of thunderstorms during their flight, where lighting design by Katy Morison, as well as the violin music, enhances the scene further.

Exodus is, on the surface, a comedy. However, in reality, it’s much more than that. Universal themes are explored and, although set in Wales, this is a play that could be set pretty much anywhere in the UK. The cast and creative team, well led by writer and director Rachael Boulton, must be congratulated for the effort that has clearly gone into a production that’s both entertaining and moving.

Reviewed by Emily K Neal

Photography by Tom Flannery

Bury the Dead

Finborough Theatre

Reviewed – 1st November 2018

★★★★

“Rafaella Marcus’ direction is precise and ambitious, creating distance and momentum with high energy movement and rapid scene changes”

It has been eighty years since ‘Bury The Dead’, the overnight hit that kick-started American writer Irwin Shaw’s startling career, was last performed in Britain and time has been kind to this remarkable and effective First World War play.

Two unnamed soldiers are burying their recent dead when the impossible happens: the dead soldiers stand up and refuse to be buried. The press get wind of it and the generals, fearing the effect on morale, send in the soldiers’ wives, mothers and sisters to talk them into dying peacefully and laying back down in the earth.

Shaw exploits this simple device to ask vital and ever-relevant questions about how war and those that die for their country are remembered. These dead soldiers fight against the notion that “war is only won when the dead are buried and forgotten”, forcing the world to confront not just the horrors of past wars, but the human sacrifice of present ones. Forgetting is not an option. Shaw avoids memorialising and glorifying, opting instead to show intimate scenes between dead soldier and loved one. The message is to remember but not romanticise. Private Dean’s mother runs screaming from the stage when she sees her sons shell-mutilated face. Confrontation might help ease her suffering. Either way, ‘Bury The Dead’ opens the debate on memorialisation and its responsibility to question as well as record.

Verity Johnson creates a foggy, evocative set using the audience to form the boundaries of a trench filled with dirt and bordered by black crates. Rafaella Marcus’ direction is precise and ambitious, creating distance and momentum with high energy movement and rapid scene changes, building expert montages that seem refreshing after long scenes of dialogue. Sioned Jones is compelling in every scene she is in and offers a beguiling performance that tackles multiple roles with ease and attentiveness. She’s matched by Luke Dale, Liam Harkins and Scott Westwood who seem so at ease in their characters and honest that their scenes together and in isolation are thrilling to watch.

Atmospheric and thought-provoking, this production tackles big themes in a tiny space. War is claustrophobic, trench warfare especially, and this feeling is evoked masterfully throughout, breaking only in the final moments when the dead win the day. Gone but not forgotten; remembered for who they were not what they fought for. War is anything but glorious in this vital, compelling, must-see production.

Finborough Theatre

Reviewed – 5th November 2018

★★★★

“explores themes such as austerity, immigration, suicide and depression in a sensitive, thought-provoking way”

Reviewed by Emily K Neal

Photography by Tom Flannery

Exodus

Finborough Theatre until 20th November

Previously reviewed at this venue:

Finborough Theatre

Reviewed – 1st November 2018

★★★★

“Rafaella Marcus’ direction is precise and ambitious, creating distance and momentum with high energy movement and rapid scene changes”

It has been eighty years since ‘Bury The Dead’, the overnight hit that kick-started American writer Irwin Shaw’s startling career, was last performed in Britain and time has been kind to this remarkable and effective First World War play.

Reviewed by Joseph Prestwich

Photography by Scott Rylander

Bury the Dead

Finborough Theatre until 24th November

Previously reviewed at this venue:

JOIN US