★★★★★

“every scene resonates with emotional clarity and artistic cohesion”

Step into the haunting beauty of Inside Giovanni’s Room, a full-length dance production by Phoenix Dance Theatre that is both visceral and achingly melancholic. Inspired by James Baldwin’s seminal novel, this performance is a masterful exploration of identity, longing, and repression, brought to life through powerful movement and evocative staging.

The dancers, deeply attuned to the emotional core of the story, deliver a breathtaking interpretation of David’s inner turmoil and fragmented desires. The choreography unspools like a confession, intimate and urgent, drawing the audience into the shadows of 1950s Paris, where love and shame collide.

A standout element of this production is its immersive use of lighting (Luke Haywood) and sound (music composition Marc Strobel). The stage becomes a psychological landscape, music swells like memory, while light casts long silhouettes that echo the characters’ internal battles. The interplay of shadow and form adds a poignant layer, underscoring the fragility of truth in a world bound by societal constraints.

Teige Bisnought delivers a deeply moving performance as David, embodying the character’s conflict with raw sensitivity. Dorna Ashory is equally compelling as Hella, David’s girlfriend, capturing the quiet ache of a love built on silence and misunderstanding.
The narrative, set against the backdrop of homophobia in mid-century Paris, unfolds with grace and urgency, never didactic, always human.

Special recognition goes to Marcus Jarrell Willis, artistic director of Phoenix Dance Theatre, whose visionary direction ensures every scene resonates with emotional clarity and artistic cohesion. Melissa Parry’s costume design is also remarkable, capturing the era with elegance and authenticity, while seamlessly supporting the physicality of the dancers.

Inside Giovanni’s Room is more than a performance, it’s a powerful meditation on identity, shame, and the universal desire to be seen and loved. A triumph in every sense.

The Rise and Fall of Little Voice

Park Theatre

Reviewed – 21st August 2018

★★★★

“what truly drives this production are the performances”

Initially a stage play, “Little Voice” was turned into the hugely successful fin-de-siècle movie starring Jane Horrocks, but has since been staged and well received enough for it to have become, if not quite a classic, a safe bet on the theatre scene. A victim of its success, there is the danger that audiences will cease to be amazed by the story of the shy, reclusive girl who reveals a powerfully beautiful voice. Tom Latter’s revival at the Park Theatre steers clear of that danger with a production that, even for those who know the story backwards, is as fresh as if it were written yesterday.

Desperately missing her dead father, Little Voice spends her time locked in her bedroom listening to his old record collection and perfecting her striking impersonations of famous singing divas. Her mother, the brash Mari, through sheer neglect does her best to stamp out this talent, until she starts dating small-time, dodgy impresario Ray, who attempts to coax Little Voice out of her hiding place. He sees a ticket to the big time. Mari sees an escape route to a better life. Little Voice just wants a normal life. Surely not everybody can get what they want.

Latter’s direction is punchy, assured and, played out on Jacob Hughes’ simple yet clever split-level design, remains faithful to writer Jim Cartwright’s script. But what truly drives this production are the performances.

Rafaella Hutchinson as Little Voice is a master impersonator, capturing the tones and vocal inflections of Monroe, Bassey, Holiday, Garland, Lee – and even Cher. Hutchinson’s transformation from damaged waif to impassioned cabaret star (and back again) is entirely believable, while she manages to trigger those contrasting emotions within you: you are willing her to break out of her shell and achieve the recognition she so deserves, yet at the same time condemning the exploitation.

But the star of the show is undoubtedly Sally George as the relentlessly chattering Mari. A sharp contrast to the silent and fearful Little Voice, yet thanks to George’s captivating performance you can see through Mari’s brash exterior to know that she shares the same insecurities as her daughter. (Interestingly they are also real-life mother and daughter). Her portrayal of Mari is quite magnificent. No pause is left unfilled by Cartwright’s bitingly hilarious text as George delivers her lines with precision timing. Seemingly unaware of the damage she is inflicting, it is all the more heart-wrenching when her daughter finally cracks the hard shell of her self-centredness.

Strong support comes from Linford Johnson as the tongue-tied electrician who woos Little Voice from the rooftops with a nervous uncertainty that belies his faith in her. Kevin McMonagle’s dubious Ray Say pans from leery charm to heartless menace in a riveting performance that lifts his character well out of the pitfall of caricature that is all too easy to fall into with this role. Jamie-Rose Monk as monosyllabic Sadie often threatens to silently steal the show, while Shaun Prendergast takes that threat further with his stand out portrayal of the stand-up Mr Boo: nightclub owner. His club-compere routines are hilarious. While the laughs from the audience are genuine, Prendergast’s own appreciation of his pitch-perfect wise-cracks are a thin veneer that fails to conceal the charred and dying hopes and dreams beneath.

The performances highlight the humour in Jim Cartwright’s dialogue, but here they also accentuate the play’s central themes of neglect, exploitation, grief, loneliness and abuse. When Little Voice herself finally dispenses with her alter-egos and poignantly sings in her own voice we are reminded that this production has its own voice too, which sets it apart from many other versions of this Northern fairy-tale.

INSIDE GIOVANNI’S ROOM

Sadler’s Wells East

★★★★★

“every scene resonates with emotional clarity and artistic cohesion”

INSIDE GIOVANNI’S ROOM

Sadler’s Wells East

Reviewed on 11th June 2025

by Beatrice Morandi

Photography by Drew Forsyth

Last ten shows reviewed at Sadler’s Wells venues:

INSIDE GIOVANNI’S ROOM

INSIDE GIOVANNI’S ROOM

INSIDE GIOVANNI’S ROOM

The Rise and Fall of Little Voice

Park Theatre

Reviewed – 21st August 2018

★★★★

“what truly drives this production are the performances”

Latter’s direction is punchy, assured and, played out on Jacob Hughes’ simple yet clever split-level design, remains faithful to writer Jim Cartwright’s script. But what truly drives this production are the performances.

Reviewed by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Ali Wright

The Rise and Fall of Little Voice

Park Theatre until 15th September

Related

Previously reviewed at this venue

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