★★

“The play scratches the surface of too many things, and is ultimately frustrating in its lack of resolution or revelation.”

Cameron Corcoran’s play, “Nook”, opens with an emotive monologue. A very loose paraphrase of the ‘Three Little Pigs’ fable, although there are now four of them and the littlest seems to be in as much danger from the other pigs as from the big bad wolf. We are not supposed to know yet who the teller of the tale is, but they are clearly a damaged soul, and we look forward to the ensuing narrative during which, we hope, the deliberately ambiguous prologue will become clear.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t. Not really. The setting is the family home in which four estranged, adopted siblings congregate following the funeral of their mother. Not for any sort of wake or show of respect, however, but to read the will (but let’s ignore the dubiously erroneous timing of this ritual for now). None of them have much affection for the deceased matriarch, and even less affection for each other. The stage is set for tensions to surface and past traumas to knock on the door threatening to ‘blow the house down’.

First up is Kenny (Daragh Cushen), the eldest son who believes he has escaped his working-class background by marrying Sarah (Zannie Benfield), the queen of snobbish put-downs. Younger brother Tom (played by Corcoran himself) is hot on his brother’s heels with fiancé Maya (Lucy Allen) even hotter on his. Not so fast moving is the socially awkward Phillip (Jack Sunderland). He still lives in the family home, so he hasn’t had as far to come, although he arrives with plenty of emotional baggage and unwarranted apologies. Last but not least is black sheep of the family, Beth (Lara Deering). A sheep in wolf’s clothing? She’s certainly no sacrificial lamb as she holds her own against the ensuing acerbic squabbles.

The dialogue is quite enigmatic. Not just difficult to interpret, but hard to follow and near impossible to swallow. Anguished mini-monologues spring from nowhere while non-sequiturs lead nowhere else. There is little logical flow to the narrative which capsizes any potential tension before it can even cast off.

The piece addresses a hotch-potch of issues: class divide, adoption, sexual and emotional, abuse, false memory, domestic violence and incest are a few of them. But the storms whipped up from the past blow in too many directions. Occasionally even the cast seem a little unsure of the material and too often Pinteresque pauses come across as fumbled lines. The performances are solid, nevertheless, even if the characterisation isn’t always convincing. Except for Deering’s Beth – who drops a delicious bombshell late into the action – actions and reactions don’t ring true and the cyclical verbal fights have been written with inadequate care or connection. Which is a shame as the premise has the potential for intrigue, if only the atmosphere of the opening passage could be maintained.

Moments of humour help drive the action. Kenny’s contemptuous wife, Sarah, has some of the best lines which Benfield delivers with cool exasperation. Her growing incredulity as secrets are revealed is a joy to watch. Pivotal moments, though, are glossed over, and the secrets and traumas shared lose their impact. It is like we are denied access. Reya Muller’s direction mirrors this distancing with some awkward but perversely effective staging, often placing the actors apart as though sections of the space are cordoned off, like some unapproachably dark memory.

It’s all a bit of a mystery. We learn the contents of the mother’s will, but we never understand what led to her decisions. The play scratches the surface of too many things, and is ultimately frustrating in its lack of resolution or revelation. At just an hour long, “Nook” still has the feel of a scratch performance, despite an initial run at the Union Theatre last year. Hopefully, in time, it will dig deeper and gain focus, once it finds its niche.

WUTHERING HEIGHTS at the Crossrail Place Roof Garden

★★★★

“almost Shakespearian at times in the rhythm of the language yet peppered with modern profanities and anachronisms”

One always admires companies who tackle outdoor shows in the UK. They are always risky undertakings, what Oscar Wilde would describe as a ‘triumph of hope over experience’. The evocatively titled Midnight Circle Productions don’t shy away from the challenge as they take their devised adaptation of Emily Bronte’s “Wuthering Heights” around some of England’s most beautiful castles, manor houses and gardens.

As part of the tour, they have shored up in the West India Docks for two nights at the Crossrail Place Roof Garden in Canary Wharf. A haven of exotic plants and hidden pathways that lead you to the small amphitheatre that, in partnership with The Space Theatre, offers free events throughout the summer months. Asian bamboos to the left, ferns from the Americas to the right, the walkway follows the Meridian line, but it never quite feels like you have escaped the city. An artificial sheen hangs in the air, matched by the rather unatmospheric theatre space you eventually stumble upon. Planes, trains and automobiles provide much of the soundtrack while a featureless wall provides the backdrop.

The cast rise to the challenge and, although not always projecting as strongly as is necessary, they hold our attention throughout with their retelling of the Brontë classic. Told with wonderful clarity and constancy, it stamps its own individuality by allowing the characterisation to fill the spaces in the framework of the text. Director Nicholas Benjamin’s semi-improvised approach lets everyone take a writing credit. The result could be chaotic but here the narrative is a mix of soap opera and classical prose; almost Shakespearian at times in the rhythm of the language yet peppered with modern profanities and anachronisms. The fluctuating tempo of the staging is led by offstage percussion and sporadic bouts of music that tentatively wander into the playing space. An underused squeezebox shyly underscores while an under amplified guitar accompanies the folksy song interludes.

The story unfolds in flashback as Nelly (Jacqueline Johnson) relates it to Lockwood (Nicholas Benjamin), the new tenant to gruff, eccentric Heathcliff – the landlord of the remote Wuthering Heights. Transported back thirty years, Lockwood learns the backstory to the two families (the Earnshaws and the Lintons) and their turbulent relationships with the Earnshaws’ adopted son, Heathcliff. While the production doesn’t quite capture the Romanticism and the Gothic heart of the novel, it certainly draws attention to the cruelty, both mental and physical and the challenging issue of abuse, class and morality. Renny Mendoza’s Heathcliff is a rather unremitting thug, who sulks and shouts his way to his pitiless end, though a charismatic presence, nonetheless. Oscar Mackie’s Hindley Earnshaw, despite being the archetypal bully, fares better in the sympathy stakes. Less a drunkard, Mackie plays the alcoholic with a modern sensitivity. A similar modernism is given to Catherine Earnshaw (Niamh Handley-Vaughan) and Isabella Linton (Nadia Lamin). Both Handley-Vaughan and Lamin keep victimhood at bay with their strong portrayals of the tragic women.

The strengths of this show, however, are often lost in the surroundings. Subtle sound effects (of ghosts or of a wrenching cry) created by the company members themselves had to compete with layers of traffic and streams of curious, often vocal, onlookers. We are more than tempted to follow the play to its next location to feel the full impact of the performance – one full of respect for the original, but not afraid to give it a bit of a shake.

NOOK

Riverside Studios

★★

“The play scratches the surface of too many things, and is ultimately frustrating in its lack of resolution or revelation.”

NOOK

Riverside Studios

Reviewed on 23rd August 2025

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Reya Muller

Recent reviews from this venue:

NOOK

NOOK

NOOK

WUTHERING HEIGHTS at the Crossrail Place Roof Garden

★★★★

“almost Shakespearian at times in the rhythm of the language yet peppered with modern profanities and anachronisms”

WUTHERING HEIGHTS at the Crossrail Place Roof Garden then tour continues

Reviewed on 24th July 2024

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Roj Whitelock

Top shows this month:

WUTHERING HEIGHTS

WUTHERING HEIGHTS

JOIN US