Rebecca Crankshaw Archives - Page 28 of 33

Outlying Islands

King’s Head Theatre

Reviewed – 15th January 2019

★★★★

“Jessica Lazar’s accomplished direction brings out the very best in her four-strong cast, and it is clear how grounded they each feel in the play’s reality”

David Greig’s Outlying Islands was first produced in 2002, and has not been seen in London since then. It is an exceptional piece of dramatic writing, and Atticist’s intense and intelligent revival serves it well.

It is 1939; John and Robert are two keen young ornithologists, fresh out of Cambridge, who have been sent by ‘the Ministry’ to study and document the extraordinary and hitherto unexamined bird population on a remote island in the Outer Hebrides. They will spend four weeks on the island – 40 miles from the nearest inhabited land – with no radio and no boat. Their only company will be the island’s leaseholder and his niece. The stage is thus set for a compelling play examining our relationship with wildness – in nature, in ourselves, and in one another. What happens to us when we are divorced from conventional societal mores? What is the role of science in our understanding of the natural world? The play is set at the outset of a long and bloody world war, in which millions of people are set to die; many of them young men, with an unwavering sense of faith and moral duty. What do those things actually mean? And what is it, really, to be free? These are big questions, and it takes a playwright at the height of their powers to wrestle with them without sacrificing humour, warmth and the wonderful messiness of being human. David Greig is that writer here, and is supported by deft direction and design and a very able cast.

The production design perfectly reflects the island’s peculiar and seductive mix of austerity and profound, instinctive, animal, pleasure. There is nothing showy here, and yet we are continually aware – not least owing to Christopher Preece’s excellent sound design – of the wind, the waves, the birds, and the earthy warmth and comfort of the disused chapel. The huge wooden door, which separates the two worlds, dominates the set, and although the boys’ early slapstick interaction with it didn’t quite convince, it nonetheless remains a powerful physical metaphor throughout the piece, and the dangerous energy of the liminal space is palpable when the door is held open for a time in the gathering storm of the play’s second half.

Jessica Lazar’s accomplished direction brings out the very best in her four-strong cast, and it is clear how grounded they each feel in the play’s reality. Jack McMillan is heartbreakingly believable as John – full of sweetness and enthusiasm, but ultimately unable to break through the many societal constrictions placed on him. By way of contrast, Tom Machell’s Robert is incisive, impulsive, mercurial; at home in this wild place from the moment he steps off the boat. Ken Drury is a splendid hoary presence as Kirk, and demonstrates considerable skill in his later transformation into the upright English Captain come to take the boys home, and the island’s lease-holders back to the mainland. And surrounded by all these men – a new circumstance for this solitary, cinema-loving creature – Ellen ultimately makes the island her own. Rose Wardlaw gives an extraordinary performance, and is utterly mesmerising throughout. As we watch her fill her lungs with air, stretch out her cramped wings and embrace the wildness within her, we too are transported to a place of dangerous possibility.

Outlying Islands is Atticist’s second production at the King’s Head, after its barnstorming revival of Steven Berkoff’s East, and its first as an Associate Company. It marks a fantastic beginning to an exciting artistic partnership; long may it continue.

Reviewed by Rebecca Crankshaw

Photography by Clive Barda

Outlying Islands

King’s Head Theatre until 2nd February

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:

And Tell Sad Stories of the Deaths of Queens | ★★★★ | August 2018

Hamilton (Lewis) | ★★★ | September 2018

Canoe | ★★★½ | October 2018

La Traviata | ★★★★ | October 2018

No Leaves on my Precious Self | ★★ | October 2018

Beauty and the Beast: A Musical Parody | ★★★★★ | November 2018

Brexit | ★★★★★ | November 2018

Buttons: A Cinderella Story | ★★★★ | November 2018

Momma Golda | ★★★ | November 2018

The Crumple Zone | ★★ | November 2018

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

★★★

“well-paced, with a clear narrative arc and some terrific, playful moments of theatricality”

The premise of STARCHEDtheatre’s debut production is a simple one: five neighbouring women in 1950s East London live out their lives and loves over their laundry. The company has clearly done its research – there is a wealth of lovely period detail, including the wonderful moment when Connie (superbly played by Jade Dowsett-Roberts) paints on her nylons with gravy – and it is impressively-shaped for a devised piece; well-paced, with a clear narrative arc and some terrific, playful moments of theatricality. The company is clearly ambitious, which is to be applauded, and for the most part its boldness pays off. Sarah Carton clearly has a future in sound design, though the persistent presence of music did occasionally distract from the dramatic action on stage, and the first introduction of a contemporary dance beat into the score does take away from the power of the later intense, wordless washing sequence, in which the women pound their individual frustrations out, drenched in red light.

This sequence, as well as the other powerful ensemble moment, which brings the play to its close, are, unfortunately, only fully visible to the people in the front row, which is a serious flaw in the otherwise excellent production design. It really is a shame to have so much excellent work wasted, and the audience frustration in the second two rows was palpable. Doubly disappointing, this, when there is so much creativity to admire elsewhere in the production – the pleasing use of the sheets in George and Elsie’s wedding scene, and again in Elsie’s moving solo moment in the latter stages of the play, to name but two.

The development of George and Elsie’s relationship is tender and beautiful throughout, from its tentative early beginnings through to its poignant close, and credit must go here both to Harry Elliott and Olivia Baker, who bring a touching level of emotional truth to these two rather understated characters. There is some terrific acting talent on display throughout. Particularly notable are Duncan Mitchell’s Arthur – a picture of roguish charm, deceit and emotional hopelessness – and William Reardon’s explosive turn as John, full of repressed steel and thunder. Anna Hallas Smith also lends a good deal of psychological heft to Betsy, the piece’s agent provocateur and tragic heroine.

The action was managed deftly for the full seventy minutes, and the stage was always pleasingly alive – a particularly impressive feat given that, as per the lack of directing credit on the cast and crew sheet, the company appears to have directed itself collectively. Overall, Laundry is an impassioned and ambitious debut from this young company, bursting with talent and drive. It would be exciting to see where all this creative energy could go in the service of a more contemporary story – something which truly belongs to these performers – and this reviewer, for one, would be first in line for a ticket.

Reviewed by Rebecca Crankshaw

Photography by Henry Thompson

King’s Head Theatre

Reviewed – 15th January 2019

★★★★

“Jessica Lazar’s accomplished direction brings out the very best in her four-strong cast, and it is clear how grounded they each feel in the play’s reality”

David Greig’s Outlying Islands was first produced in 2002, and has not been seen in London since then. It is an exceptional piece of dramatic writing, and Atticist’s intense and intelligent revival serves it well.

Outlying Islands is Atticist’s second production at the King’s Head, after its barnstorming revival of Steven Berkoff’s East, and its first as an Associate Company. It marks a fantastic beginning to an exciting artistic partnership; long may it continue.

Reviewed by Rebecca Crankshaw

Photography by Clive Barda

Outlying Islands

King’s Head Theatre until 2nd February

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:

The Space

Reviewed – 9th January 2019

★★★

“well-paced, with a clear narrative arc and some terrific, playful moments of theatricality”

Reviewed by Rebecca Crankshaw

Photography by Henry Thompson

Laundry

The Space until 12th January

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue: