★★★½

“The musical element of the production is excellent and really complements the movement and dialogue performed”

One grandfather, one granddaughter, originally from Tel Aviv. The grandfather is suffering from Alzheimer’s and can’t seem to remember where home is, whereas the granddaughter’s UK visa is near expiration, meaning she is uncertain of where to call home. Althea Theatre’s Jericho’s Rose explores what happens when two generations struggle to work out where they belong in the world.

When the audience first enters the small performance space, Lilac Yosiphon (performer, as well as writer and co-director) is already on stage. She is walking around the space with a suitcase and passport, as if confused and unsure of her destination. We are immediately engaged and curious as to how her story is going to unfold.

Yosiphon takes on the role of the granddaughter, Jasmine, and grandfather, switching between the two quite seamlessly, with the aid of musical cues and voice recordings of the opposite role. Music is composed and performed by Sam Elwin, who is based at the side of the stage and makes use of loop-pedalled sound. The musical element of the production is excellent and really complements the movement and dialogue performed. As Elwin himself notes, most of the music was composed during rehearsals, allowing him to respond to moments as they occurred, as well as contribute to the generation of new moments.

In terms of movement, Yosiphon never merely walks around the performance space. Her abstract, physical theatre style movements work well and add to the clear sense of bewilderment experienced by both granddaughter and grandfather. Lighting Design and Projection by Will Monks, further adds to this and we, as audience members, can really feel as though we are stepping into the minds of these troubled individuals.

Jericho’s Rose is a fast-paced piece of theatre. Fragmented by nature, you may need to hold concentration more than you would during a more straightforward production, to fully keep track of what is going on and stay engaged. The piece could also most likely be condensed down, whilst still delivering what it has set out to deliver. However, if you want to see something abstract, surprising and delivered by talented performers, you should see Jericho’s Rose.

Reviewed by Emily K Neal

Photography by Lidia Crisafulli

THE LESSON at The Hope Theatre

★★★★

“The dialogue, in the hands of the accomplished trio of actors, is music (sometimes thrillingly discordant) to the ears throughout”

Written in 1950, Eugene Ionesco’s “The Lesson” has lost none of its strangeness, nor its resonance. It exemplifies what has been coined ‘Theatre of the absurd’ of which Ionesco is master. A powerful three hander it beats to the palpitating rhythm of a macabre merry-go-round upon which the archetypal characters of the Professor, the Pupil and the Maid are fated to ride.

The Maid is busy mopping the floor of the Professor’s study as the audience take their seats. A seemingly innocuous pre-show. For those familiar with the play, I don’t need to state its significance; and for those unfamiliar, I won’t. So let the lesson begin. The Maid fussily withdraws having ushered in the new Pupil. It gets off to a smooth start but it’s not long before the Professor becomes increasingly frustrated with his protégé’s inability to grasp the rudiments of mathematics. Roger Alborough wastes no time establishing his stage presence with a performance that is chillingly playful. But playful in the way a predator teases with its prey.

Sheetal Kapoor is quite extraordinary as the Pupil, transforming from compliant, naïve schoolgirl into a shattered marionette. As her enthusiasm for the lesson deteriorates her toothache increases; clearly a metaphor for her psychological pain. In fact, the whole play is a metaphor, a cautionary tale for today, further exemplified by Joan Potter’s Maid who repeatedly has to clean up the mess. Potter makes the sinister aspects of this play quite palpable with an understated performance pitched with just the right amount of irony. Yes, it’s gruesome but, hey, it’s absurd so it’s okay to laugh.

Donald Watson’s translation is further heightened under Matthew Parker’s slick direction. The dialogue, in the hands of the accomplished trio of actors, is music (sometimes thrillingly discordant) to the ears throughout. Repeated banalities, unshackled illogicality and non sequiturs all compete for air time. Comedy and violence, absurdity and disturbance, mystery and fear all go hand in hand; so the audience’s reactions are varied. While some are laughing, others are recoiling in horror.

The experience is sharpened by the confines of the space. Encased in the round, neither the actors nor the audience have room to escape, and there’s even less room for a fourth wall. Although the cast never address the audience directly we are drawn into the impossible dialogue: there is no barrier between us and them, between reality and fantasy, which intensifies the unnerving quality of the writing. Simon Arrowsmith’s filmic sound design adds the final layer; a gossamer cloak of atmosphere that fits the action perfectly.

Gripping through to the final scene in which the absurdity pours over the action like blood from a knife wound, “The Lesson” has something to teach us all. And this production at the Hope Theatre is, without a doubt, a high-grade lesson in theatre making.

Jericho’s Rose

Hope Theatre

Reviewed – 18th October 2018

★★★½

“The musical element of the production is excellent and really complements the movement and dialogue performed”

Reviewed by Emily K Neal

Photography by Lidia Crisafulli

Jericho’s Rose

Hope Theatre until 3rd November

Previously reviewed at this venue:

THE LESSON at The Hope Theatre

★★★★

“The dialogue, in the hands of the accomplished trio of actors, is music (sometimes thrillingly discordant) to the ears throughout”

Gripping through to the final scene in which the absurdity pours over the action like blood from a knife wound, “The Lesson” has something to teach us all. And this production at the Hope Theatre is, without a doubt, a high-grade lesson in theatre making.

Reviewed by Jonathan Evans

Reviewed – 27th September 2018

Photography by LH Photography

The Lesson

Hope Theatre until 13th October

Previously reviewed at The Hope: