Tag Archives: Kathryn O’Reilly

Skin in the Game
★★★★

Greenwich Theatre

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Skin in the Game

Skin in the Game

Greenwich Theatre

Reviewed – 23rd July 2019

★★★★

 

“The three leads perform their powerfully naturalistic lines with immaculate timing and almost exhilarating rancour”

 

In a crime and drugs plagued central Birmingham district, three siblings grapple with the seemingly everyday task of disposing of their father’s flat following his move to a care home. However, the central role of Jamie (Paul Westwood) is haunted by a gambling addiction, presaged even before the play opens by the sinister sounds of gaming machines. So, there’s a growing sense of unease from the off as Jamie bickers and banters first with his domineering brother Danny (Charlie Allen), then with his sister Michelle (Kathryn O’Reilly), run ragged by single-motherhood and poorly paid work leavened only by casual drug use. The filth-flecked dialogue flows in a breathless stream of malign gossip and invective, barely concealing all the characters’ craving for one form of instant gratification or another and the reduction of their relationships to the purely transactional.

What starts as a topical, issue-led drama heading for a morality tale ending, then shifts its ground in the last quarter with the appearance of the father himself (David Whitworth) in a flashback scene revealing a goodness behind Jamie’s fecklessness, and much badness elsewhere, turning kitchen sink realism into a slightly contrived whodunnit. On our way to this denouement we discover that documents have gone missing, the flat has been taken off the market, and the sinking feeling widens into a bottomless chasm, drawing all three in.

The three leads perform their powerfully naturalistic lines with immaculate timing and almost exhilarating rancour, with the refreshingly sympathetic role of their father bringing a well-judged counterpoint at the end. Direction by Clemmie Reynolds is just as precise, benefitting from some imaginative sound and lighting from Alex McNally. Emily Megson’s set somehow makes the grim, claustrophobic flat fill the ample Greenwich Theatre stage whilst making the grimy furnishings form a pleasing tableau and costume by Emily Ntinas is subtly spot on – literally, in the case of the stains ornamenting Michelle’s stretch jeans.

A very impressive full-length debut from Paul Westwood, though lacking in resonance for anyone expecting an indictment of the causes and culture behind these blighted lives. As satisfying as the twist is, and as masterly as the characterisations are, a move from social commentary to a plot revelation in flashback does entail a loss of emotional engagement, not to say a few questions in the mind of the audience as they leave.

 

Reviewed by Dominic Gettins

Photography by Stephanie Claire

 

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Skin in the Game

Greenwich Theatre

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:
One Last Waltz | ★★★ | March 2018
Eigengrau | ★ | August 2018
Outrageous Fortune | ★★★ | May 2019

 

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Bluebird – 4 Stars

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Bluebird

Bluebird

The Space

Reviewed – 25th July 2018

★★★★

“viscerally funny, and celebratory too; a love affair with language, with London, and with the messiness of being human”

 

There couldn’t be a more apt time for The Space to stage Simon Stephens’ 2012 play, Bluebird – the action of which takes place over the course of a sweltering summer night in London. The stifling heat at the moment, together with the proximity of the actors in The Space’s intimate playing area, made us feel, as audience members, that we were truly sharing the night with the characters, in a way that only added to the emotional intensity of the evening.

The play revolves around Jimmy, a Mancunian writer turned cab driver. Simon Stephens sees that the cab driver takes on the role of confessor in the secular world of contemporary Britain, and as Jimmy criss-crosses London in his Nissan Bluebird, his fares divulge the secrets of their lives, and, each in their own way, struggle to make sense of the business of living. ‘Do you have any idea what it means – at all?’ asks fare number two, a genial joker with a beer in his hand; a question that resonates throughout, and is at its most unbearably poignant in relation to the central tragedy of Jimmy’s own life.

Although the play deals with irreparable loss, grief, and the immense and powerful everyday drama of the relationship between parent and child – recurrent Stephens themes all – it is also viscerally funny, and celebratory too; a love affair with language, with London, and with the messiness of being human.

The Space’s production – directed by Adam Hemming with a sure hand and a light touch – rightly keeps the language centre stage, and maximises the strengths of an immensely able cast, in order to create a powerful, funny and genuinely moving evening. A few of the transition sequences were a little clumsy, and a couple of performances required greater vocal control – with writing this good, you really don’t want to miss a word! – but these were tiny niggles in the face of some exceptionally good acting. Terrific, tight, well-observed and connected work from Jonathan Keane as Jimmy, Mike Duran as Robert and Adam Scott-Pringle as Richard, as well as a wonderfully warm and true performance from Felicity Walsh as Angela. Special mention must go, however, to Anna Doolan, for her heartbreaking portrayal of Jimmy’s wife Clare. It was an exceptional performance, and this reviewer wasn’t the only audience member to find herself in need of a hanky.

 

Reviewed by Rebecca Crankshaw

Photography courtesy Space Productions

 


Bluebird

The Space until 4th August

 

 

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