Tag Archives: Jonathan Evans

OUTLYING ISLANDS

★★★★

Jermyn Street Theatre

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OUTLYING ISLANDS

Jermyn Street Theatre

★★★★

OUTLYING ISLANDS cast members

“The subject matter never quite chills our bones, but the context is often unsettling”

The atmosphere hits you like a bracing offshore wind as you descend into the depths of the small basement on Jermyn Street. Anna Lewis’ set: a semi-submerged, semi-derelict stone chapel, creates the mood. Tragic and sepulchral, yet some sort of haven from the cruel elements that sweep the remote Hebridean shoreline outside. Its owner, Kirk, is just as rough-edged. Living alone with Ellen, his niece, they live in quiet captivity until two young, hapless ornithologists burst through the door – literally knocking it off its hinges. The impulsive, emotionally detached Robert, along with the more moral but anxious John have arrived to study the local bird life. It is the eve of World War II, so there is understandably a more sinister motive behind the survey that leaves them stranded on the isle for a month. Less understandable is the fact that the two young men seem somewhat unaware of the pretext. Whereas the isolated, cantankerous Kirk has all the gen. Fully aware that his outlying outcrop is scheduled to be the subject of a biological weapon experiment, he sees the dollar-signs stockpiling in his compensation package.

David Greig’s lyrical play draws you in to this small world. It is claustrophobic but the confines are torn, allowing us to see the wider issues. Little, though, is made of the encroaching anthrax experiment and instead we are watching the social and romantic entanglements as avidly as birdwatchers study our feathered friends’ behaviour. Humans are much more complicated. Greig knows this only too well and the poetry of his language teases out the characters’ serpentine layers with rich dialogue and haunting monologues. The standout performance is Whitney Kehinde’s Ellen. Timid and repressed she swiftly replaces her dour mantle with swathes of lust, as a new-found freedom from her uncle’s tyranny is tragically chanced upon. Kevin McMonagle is wonderfully charismatic as Kirk. Acerbic and unashamedly direct, he tries to keep Ellen like a caged bird but cannot control her mind. The stage lights up every time McMonagle fires his lines with a wry sense of humour and a Chekhovian dramatic irony.

OUTLYING ISLANDS cast member

Bruce Langley and Fred Woodley Evans, as Robert and John respectively, also manage to spin out the humour that runs alongside the poignancy. Deliberate echoes of Laurel and Hardy break the solemnity in a play that is difficult to categorise. The comedy is subtle, like the Mona Lisa smile. It disappears when you look directly at it. The ambiguity is sometimes overdone, though, and confusion starts to set in as the show coasts towards its climax in a tangle of charged eroticism. Despite the shifts in mood, Jessica Lazar’s assured direction evenly paces the action. Clever use of the intimate space sets clear indicators for the interior and exterior scenes, enhanced by David Doyle’s suggestive lighting which evokes the bleakness, and ignites warmth when needed. The subject matter never quite chills our bones, but the context is often unsettling.

Politically and philosophically the play throws up some interesting questions while rooting itself in a story about human relationships. Desire is a complex beast. The male characters are more at sea than Ellen. We wonder whether she is playing the two outsiders or whether her passions are genuine. We are certainly given time to contemplate – the play does stretch itself out. Not every character makes it to the end. But, thanks to the writing and the wonderful performances from the strong quartet of actors, the audience is kept in thrall right up to the closing moments.



OUTLYING ISLANDS

Jermyn Street Theatre

Reviewed on 11th February 2025

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Alex Brenner

 

 


 

 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

THE MAIDS | ★★★ | January 2025
NAPOLEON: UN PETIT PANTOMIME | ★★★★ | November 2024
EURYDICE | ★★ | October 2024
LAUGHING BOY | ★★★ | May 2024
THE LONELY LONDONERS | ★★★★ | March 2024
TWO ROUNDS | ★★★ | February 2024
THE BEAUTIFUL FUTURE IS COMING | ★★★★ | January 2024
OWNERS | ★★★½ | October 2023
INFAMOUS | ★★★★ | September 2023
SPIRAL | ★★ | August 2023

OUTLYING ISLANDS

OUTLYING ISLANDS

OUTLYING ISLANDS

 

ANIMAL FARM

★★★

UK Tour

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ANIMAL FARM

Rose Theatre

★★★

“There is much to admire, and the ideas are inspired”

The unnerving and overpowering effect of George Orwell’s novella, “Animal Farm” is how little has changed less than a century on from its publication in 1945. His biting political allegory was an unveiled attack on totalitarianism, more specifically Stalinism. We don’t need to look at history to wonder what Orwell would make of today’s leading political figures, nor do we need to rely on the Soviet-style, Communist regimes to appreciate the inspiration behind his writing. The popular graffiti slogan often seen on urban walls – ‘George Orwell was an optimist’ – is resonant today, and Ian Wooldridge’s current stage adaptation allies itself to that point of view.

Remaining faithful to the original it promises to pack a punch as we enter the grim, nightmare scenario. Metallic music throbs while surveillance cameras, perched on the vandalised, corrugated backdrop, watch us take our seats. Elements of sci-fi drift in as the harsh percussion gives way to hymnal, synthetic strings of a ‘brave-new-dawn’. A temporary reprieve, however, as those familiar with Orwell’s writing will know. Director Iqbal Khan’s production shares that sense of frustrated potential. There is much to admire, and the ideas are inspired. Ciarán Bagnall’s brutal set is more knacker’s yard than farm and the skeletal, lattice framed masks of the animals have a suitably dystopian quality. It is a shame though to spoil the effect with unnecessary gestures and playground animal noises.

Individual characterisation suffers, too, from an overreliance on provincial accents to distinguish the roles. Yet the performers are given plenty to get their teeth into and the commitment is unyielding, but it feels like they have been pushed too hard in one direction. Too many lines are shouted and even the quieter, reflective moments are over projected, as though the audience are either hard of hearing or primary school kids. Natalia Campbell’s ‘Old Major’ delivers a strong opening address that sets the scene, although the Queen Vic Cockney accent dampens the gravity. We expect a pub brawl rather than a revolution. ‘Napolean’, the chief pig whose tyranny replaces the tyranny that has been overthrown, is more precocious teenager than despot in Rhian Lynch’s hands. With Lewis Griffin’s streetwise ‘Squealer’ they rule the new regime with fake news, propaganda and an over-zealous trend of silencing dissidents. A chillingly familiar scenario. Soroosh Lavasani gives a more nuanced ‘Snowball’, the downtrodden rival to ‘Napoleon’, while Sam Black’s ‘Boxer’ – the silently-strong yet naively loyal work-horse – beckons our sympathy.

The nuances and the resonances are all in the writing. The execution, however, misses tricks and opportunities and a lot of the time we feel like we are being delivered a lecture. The setting, enhanced by Dylan Townley’s thrilling music and Gerry Marsden’s atmospheric sound design, promises the ‘fairy story’ that Orwell himself dubbed the novella. Quite why it should be considered a fairytale is open to debate, but a fable it definitely is. Khan’s production does indeed get all the points across, and we are given a stern warning about the recycling of history. Aesthetically it reproduces the story perfectly. The excessive exposition, however, obscures the general concept behind this production: a show that is plainly full of striking and thought-provoking ideas.

 

ANIMAL FARM

Rose Theatre then UK Tour continues

Reviewed on 4th February 2025

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Pamela Raith

 

 


 

 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

NEVER LET ME GO | ★★★ | September 2024
SHOOTING HEDDA GABLER | ★★★★ | October 2023

ANIMAL FARMMAL FARM

NIMAL FARM