Tag Archives: Lewis Gibson

SELF-RAISING

★★★★★

Soho Theatre

SELF-RAISING at the Soho Theatre

★★★★★

“inclusive theatre at its finest, it is warm and funny as well as being shocking and moving”

Jenny Sealey bursts onto stage with frankness and with warmth in this one-woman autobiographical show.

Sealey is deaf, and much of the show explores her experiences growing up in a hearing world. Certainly, the crafting of the show, which uses on screen sur titles and weaves in Jeni Draper, Sealey’s ‘terp’ (on stage interpreter) is consciously, and beautifully inclusive. However, to view the play as purely about deafness would be to box it in, and ignore the poignant and gripping family drama which Sealey unfolds.

Sealey, along with co-writer Mike Kenny and director Lee Lyford create an on-stage world which feels comforting, honest and genuine. Some of this comes from Sealey herself, who is charismatic and witty. Everyone in the audience wants to be her friend. But there are also more technical elements. It is nothing new to see an on-stage interpreter, but the way she is used in this production feels fresh and unusual. She is introduced and included in the show, her role falling somewhere between interpreter and performer. This gives Sealey a support on stage which makes her not seem so alone. This adds to the kind and safe space and allows the audience to enjoy the darker moments of the story, without fearing for the wellbeing of the performer.

Something which also builds up this very special world is that the captioning and video design is by Jonah Sealey Braverman, Jenny Sealey’s son. He is very much a part of the story, and his voice appears in voiceover throughout the play. This laid much of the creative process bare, bringing the audience along the journey with the team, and this transparent nature makes Sealey and her story even more personable and engaging. She lets us behind the curtain, and treats us, too, like family.

The set is simple, three kitchen cupboards which light up, and a projector screen. The designer Anisha Fields and lighting designer Emma Chapman execute a playful vision, with the cupboards lighting up in bold different colours.

This is inclusive theatre at its finest, it is warm and funny as well as being shocking and moving. It never feels preachy or worthy and the audience is welcomed into Sealey’s tangled web of a family drama.


SELF-RAISING at the Soho Theatre

Reviewed on 8th February 2024

by Auriol Reddaway

Photography by Tiu Makkonen

 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

FLIP! | ★★★★ | November 2023
BOY PARTS | ★★★★ | October 2023
BROWN BOYS SWIM | ★★★½ | October 2023
STRATEGIC LOVE PLAY | ★★★★★ | September 2023
KATE | ★★★★★ | September 2023
EVE: ALL ABOUT HER | ★★★★★ | August 2023
STRING V SPITTA | ★★★★ | August 2023
BLOODY ELLE | ★★★★★ | July 2023
PETER SMITH’S DIANA | | July 2023
BRITANICK | ★★★★★ | February 2023
LE GATEAU CHOCOLAT: A NIGHT AT THE MUSICALS | ★★★★ | January 2023
WELCOME HOME | ★★★★ | January 2023

SELF-RAISING

SELF-RAISING

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The Claim

The Claim

★★★★★

Shoreditch Town Hall

The Claim

The Claim

Shoreditch Town Hall

Reviewed -20th February 2020

★★★★★

 

“a tremendous example of when theatre truly can be a powerful mouthpiece and provoke its viewers to want to genuinely act”

 

Many people seeking asylum in the UK arrive hoping for a new start. They feel Britain will offer them a sense of security they’ve been craving. However, studies have shown that the Home Office’s system of processing asylum seekers is failed, with wrong decisions due to misinformation and language barriers happening regularly, causing dangerous or traumatic effects. The Claim follows one such asylum seeker’s aggravating journey of wanting to be heard and find consummate peace. It’s a compelling tale of injustice, designed to incite change.

Serge (Tonderai Munyevu) wants to tell his story. He wants the trauma of his past to be softened by the assurance of protection and stability in this country. The country he’s hoping to make his permanent home. An office, where co-workers A (Nick Blakeley) and B (Indra Ové) deal with claims of refuge. Claims like Serge’s, A and B’s job demands precision and the truth, however in their process of obtaining it, they ultimately fabricate the answers they want through prejudice and misinterpretation.

It is devastatingly heartbreaking to see the anguish and torment Serge is put in, as he jumps through administrative hoops. Never has the term ‘lost in translation’ been so apparent. Playwright Tim Cowbury allows the audience to feel they are fully standing in Serge’s shoes, experiencing the same infuriation as he, within the same moment. You feel an immense sense of investment in the character Serge, rooting for him throughout and willing his actual truth to be heard and understood. Many hands in heads and sighs of frustration could be seen and heard from the audience members. The play generates this kind of immediate, involuntary response. Cowbury masterfully composes interweaving and intercutting dialogue, with voices overlapping into a cacophony of communication breakdown. As much as the writing deals with deep rooted issues, it is off set with amusing moments and witty lines that make this abstract set play a joy to watch.

The three actors play their distinctive parts excellently. They all have a nimble hold on the complex, fast-paced nature of Cowbury’s dialogue. Munyevu’s vulnerability and desperation as Serge is most stirring. Ové as B is unbearably clinical with her job, yet presents a nuanced subtext that proves that B has had her own issues of discrimination to contend with. Blakeley plays the nervous energy of a liberal white male do-gooder to perfection. A’s ignorance whilst trying to be a saviour is most believable.

Played in the round, with some dialogue breaking the fourth wall, the audience are very much immersed in the action. Sometimes, claustrophobically so, feeling too close for comfort to the action. Another device to make the audience experience the same emotions as the protagonist. A simple block in the centre for a chair and vertical, four-corner strip lighting highlights further the impersonal, inhumane environment of such offices.

This is the most affecting piece of performance I have seen in recent time. The Claim is a tremendous example of when theatre truly can be a powerful mouthpiece and provoke its viewers to want to genuinely act. Something that many productions strive to, but never actually achieve. The Claim is different. With strong writing, powerful performances and inclusive staging, this is a terrifically thought provoking show in every aspect. Who knew sitting in a state of exasperation could be so entertaining?

 

Reviewed by Phoebe Cole

Photography by John Hunter

 


The Claim

Shoreditch Town Hall until 7th March

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:
Shift | ★★★★ | May 2019
Gastronomic | ★★★★★ | September 2019
Kneehigh’s Ubu! A Singalong Satire | ★★★★ | December 2019

 

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