Tag Archives: Simon Stephens

Harper Regan
★★★★

Tabard Theatre

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Harper Regan

Harper Regan

Tabard Theatre

Reviewed – 22nd May 2019

★★★★

 

“these actors ensure Stephens’ wordy script continues to punch above its weight”

 

Simon Stephens is one of the great contemporary British playwrights. By no stretch his best play, ‘Harper Regan’ remains a timely and touching work fully deserving of a revival eleven years after it first premiered at the National Theatre. Presented by Contentment Productions, set up to redress the balance towards 50:50 equal representation for female actors, and directed by Pollyanna Newcombe, this is a powerful female-led production that moves as much as it shocks.

Harper (Emmy Happisburgh) is on a journey to see her dying father one last time before he passes away. Abandoning her husband (Cameron Robertson), daughter (Bea Watson) and day job (under Philip Gill’s creepy manager), she flies from Uxbridge to Stockport, meeting 17-year-old Tobias (Joseph Langdon), drunken flirt Mickey Nestor (Marcus McManus) and her disappointed mother (Alma Reising) along the way. Harper’s is a story of renewal, self-discovery, and the power of the painful truth.

Leading the charge in practically every scene, Happisburgh is mesmerising as Harper, imbuing the character with a hint of Northern edge and dash of vulnerability in equal measure. Her energy and presence are matched by a strong ensemble, but McManus’ leering Mickey stands out as a compelling mix of Ryan Gosling and that creepy guy sat in the corner of Wetherspoons whistling at women (NB: maybe this is only something I’ve experienced…). Newcombe’s direction places emphasis on the relationships and conflicts between characters, and these are well handled by the cast. For me, Stephens script needs a bit of a trim, and the actors should feel free to roam a bit more – this production felt very still. That said, these actors ensure Stephens’ wordy script continues to punch above its weight.

The contemporary set of gauze flats and well-chosen location indicators keeps the production design simple but effective, and allows for some cool lighting transitions. Scene changes are expertly choreographed and often come as a gasp-inducing shock to the Tabard audience. Why can’t all scene changes in theatre be as interesting to watch as these?

A punchy drama of redemption, ‘Harper Regan’ is a real Northern Powerhouse of a play, and this is astounding work from a cast that will only get better as the run continues and they learn to sit more comfortably in their intriguing and nuanced characters.

 

Reviewed by Joseph Prestwich

Photography by Rob Youngson

 


Harper Regan

Tabard Theatre until 1st June

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:
The Lady With a Dog | ★★★★ | March 2018
Sophie, Ben, and Other Problems | ★★★★ | April 2018
Sirens of the Silver Screen | ★★★ | June 2018
Sexy Laundry | ★★★ | November 2018
Carl’s Story | ★★★★ | March 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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