Minglu Wang Archives - thespyinthestalls.com

Funeral Flowers

The Bunker

Reviewed – 17th April 2019

★★★½

“this production leaves its audience invested, breathless and nurturing a small bud of hope”

The dark space of The Bunker Theatre glows dimly as we enter. As our eyes adjust, it’s clear that one wall shimmers with suspended flowers, gradually phasing through colours from chilly blues to glowing pinks. With this, we step into Angelique’s world.

This one-woman show from Harts Theatre Company and Power Play brings us a story that, tragically, is not new. Angelique finds herself all too alone in the world, with her mum incarcerated and her dad (‘the sperm donor’) invisible. We follow her, literally, in this promenade piece, as she struggles to navigate the care system and independent living. This tale could be all too familiar, but Angelique, who shares her name with a type of tulip, wants to be a florist. Her spaces and thoughts brim with flowers, and we find ourselves swept into this world. Through the prism of her floral inner and outer life, her tale takes on new significance.

Funeral Flowers’ immersive success owes a huge debt to dreamy, flower-filled set design of Minglu Wang. The black box of The Bunker takes on astonishing beauty – not for nothing are several florists credited on the programme. These spaces become menacing when the story darkens using clever lighting from James Dawson.

Emma Dennis-Edwards is compelling as our protagonist. The challenge of representing a teenager peeks through at times (especially during the longish opening scene) where her moods and mannerisms can feel affected, even exaggerated. In her more nuanced moments though, she’s riveting to watch – not for nothing does this show carry a warning of triggering scenes of sexual violence. Credit must be given to the production for handling this so sensitively, with warnings in advance via the website and programme, the option of leaving and returning another time proffered and details to survivor support services signposted.

There are moments that don’t hold together as well as Dennis-Edwards’ performance and Rachel Nwokoro’s confident direction. A little audience engagement is fun but its purpose is unclear, and the hurly-burly of fitting the sizeable audience into the confined seating area at the start (an impossible task) means that we begin a good ten minutes late. But these fade away when Dennis-Edwards brings her irrepressible cast of characters to the stage, each one as real as the next. This is especially true of her rendering of Angelique’s sometime boyfriend Ricky. Spoiler alert: Ricky is not a nice man. Dennis-Edwards has the audience reacting with audible gasps at some of his behaviour.

The presence of the flower wall calls to mind the work of artist Anya Gallaccio, who created vast installations of cut flowers which are allowed to gradually die away. As the performance comes to a close, it’s not clear whether Angelique will flourish or herself wither and die. What is clear is that this production leaves its audience invested, breathless and nurturing a small bud of hope.

Reviewed by Abi Davies

Photography by Kofi Dwaah

Funeral Flowers

The Bunker until 4th May

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:

Reboot: Shorts 2 | ★★★★ | October 2018

The Interpretation of Dreams | ★★★ | November 2018

Sam, The Good Person | ★★★ | January 2019

Welcome To The UK | ★★ | January 2019

Box Clever | ★★★★★ | March 2019

My White Best Friend | ★★★★★ | March 2019

Click here to see more of our latest reviews on thespyinthestalls.com

★★★★★

“a realistic insight into an unpleasant world of abuse and despair”

Since opening in 2016 the Bunker Theatre has remained true to the initial objective of being home to exhilarating and contemporary theatre, representing the world in which we live. The current season, announced as revolutionary from new artistic director Chris Sonnex, features a double bill of one-woman shows – namely Killymuck and Box Clever. Whilst each show can be seen individually on separate dates, watching both the same day is recommended, as whilst very different, together they have a connection of putting female benefits-class and working-class voices forward.

Box Clever written by Monsay Whitney tells the story of Marnie a young single mother and highlights the problems of getting into a circle of abuse, homelessness and despair. Using the same Minglu Wang set and production team as Killymuck (less the centre soil), Box Clever takes the viewer through a diverse set of emotions as Marnie’s life spirals downwards over a ten year period. It begins as extremely funny and yet as the play progresses it becomes heartbreakingly sad.

Marnie is brilliantly portrayed by Redd Lily Roche who enters the stage in white jeans and t-shirt stained with blood. She has a violent off stage boyfriend, Liam – the blood likely being from his violent behaviour towards her. Other males in her life are unpleasant towards her too.

When Marnie is telling the stories of her boyfriends and others she comes in contact with, the dialogue is exceptionally funny. One could almost imagine the character and stories being picked up by a TV producer and being a successful late evening show. Her interaction with boyfriends, her key worker and mum are all very cleverly written and fun to watch.

However as the play progresses and she goes to live at a Women’s Refuge the text becomes darker and more sinister. It is clear that she is not in the safe place she expected. Her four year old daughter is represented by a white balloon that Roche brings to life with her caring attitude to do the best for her. Her interactions with her daughter are totally believable.

The direction from Stef O’Driscoll is perfect, Joe Price’s lighting supports the drama and Benjamin Grant’s sound design underlines the tension. This piece more than anything else I have seen this year had an immediate and profound effect on me. I left the theatre inspired by the performance from Redd Lily Roche who gave a realistic insight into an unpleasant world of abuse and despair. It is an unmissable show – well done to W14 Productions and The Bunker for bringing it to a London audience.

Reviewed by Steve Sparrow

Photography by Craig Sugden

The Bunker

Reviewed – 17th April 2019

★★★½

“this production leaves its audience invested, breathless and nurturing a small bud of hope”

The dark space of The Bunker Theatre glows dimly as we enter. As our eyes adjust, it’s clear that one wall shimmers with suspended flowers, gradually phasing through colours from chilly blues to glowing pinks. With this, we step into Angelique’s world.

Reviewed by Abi Davies

Photography by Kofi Dwaah

Funeral Flowers

The Bunker until 4th May

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:

The Bunker

Reviewed – 28th March 2019

★★★★★

“a realistic insight into an unpleasant world of abuse and despair”

Marnie is brilliantly portrayed by Redd Lily Roche who enters the stage in white jeans and t-shirt stained with blood. She has a violent off stage boyfriend, Liam – the blood likely being from his violent behaviour towards her. Other males in her life are unpleasant towards her too.

Reviewed by Steve Sparrow

Photography by Craig Sugden

Box Clever

The Bunker until 13th April

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue: