★★★

“An inspiring, well-loved piece of physical theatre”

After an exceptional run at the Barbican in 2022, Gecko’s The Wedding returns to London as part of MimeLondon, a festival that showcases new and exciting physical and visual theatre. Though a slightly re-imagined version, this production of The Wedding, created by Gecko’s artistic director Amit Lahav, stays true to its original exploration of the relationship humans develop with each other and with society itself.

In a dystopian-like reality, human beings come into the world through a slide. They are welcomed by an enthusiastic lady who hands them a beautiful wedding gown and gets them set up for their life as part of a peculiar society. All the members of this society work frantically, party hard and live a life of repetition and contracts, with nothing else on the horizon. Till group of outcasts, in an attempt to improve their lives, decide to slip in and along with a dismayed wedded individual, they bring change and, eventually, revolution.

There is an undeniably raw element in every expression, every move and every word of the ensemble’s performance. All of the performers, without exception, work hard to breathe life in an array of characters, from the obedient receiver of the newcomers to a homeless entertainer and a man who dares to go against the established rules and enquire about divorce. Their energy flows continuously, their precision is impressive and their collective chemistry mind-blowing.

One of Gecko’s characteristics is the use of various languages and the use of breath to add to the soundscape and to the emotional depth of the storytelling. It also works as a reminder that what we see onstage is a collective of humans that live, feel and breathe. However, in this version of the show, it feels like an incessant chattering; always in the background without any room for some quiet or some pause for variation. Instead of pacing out the speaking and breathing parts, there is a constant jabber on top of Dave Price’s beautiful music. But how are we to appreciate the music and the performers’ vulnerable speech when nothing ever stops?

Another distracting element is the inconsistency in the world building and movement development. Especially important in physical theatre is to establish certain patterns to help the audience understand what’s happening. Those patterns can be built, deconstructed and eventually thrown out the window, but they provide a stability and specificity without which the show ends up being vague and unreachable. Executive director Matthew Jones provides snapshots of events and characters that feel incomplete, random and disconnected, though they are powerful and at times land successfully, like when the whole ensemble comes together to celebrate in a wonderful set of circular shapes and motions full of fluidity, harmony and unison.

Regarding the lighting, designed by Joe Hornsby, it creates strictly bounded blocks that enhance the feeling of disconnection and isolation among the wedded individuals. Also, the use of lamps and fairy lights on the stage helps the audience visually navigate a stage that is not always easy to keep up with. The set and costume design, by Rhys Jarman, favours an earthy colour palette and bring us back to earlier times with braces, long skirts and big telephones. This could hint to a theme of breaking free from history and preventing it from repeating itself by disturbing an order placed upon us by a force we don’t even know.

An inspiring, well-loved piece of physical theatre, The Wedding urges us to examine the contracts of our lives and take matters into our own hands in order to determine our happiness.

MS. HOLMES & MS. WATSON – APT 2B

Arcola Theatre

★★★

“a funny show that does a fine job in entertaining its audience”

It’s clear from the moment actor Tendai Humphrey Sitima comes onstage and welcomes us with his improvised prologue that this is no ordinary Sherlock Holmes narrative. It’s wacky, whimsical and most importantly, it takes place post pandemic. Writer Kate Hamill transports us to…today and brings out a fresh dynamic between the infamous duo of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson, whose genders have been swapped to female.

Dr. Joan Watson finds herself in a transitional period and is somehow convinced to live with Holmes, a manic and eccentric consulting detective. For Holmes, everything is a puzzle that needs to be solved and she invites Watson in a world of clues, puzzles and mystery. Other well-known characters from the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s original stories appear, like Mrs. Hudson, Irene Adler, Lestrade and of course, Holmes’ nemesis, Moriarty. Nothing is what it seems as we join Holmes and Watson in a chase that leaves us breathless.

The relationship between Holmes and Watson has a playful quality and an underlying romantic element, which is never fully acted upon. This is for the best, as the two hours and thirty minute run is not enough to introduce to us to the adapted world, the newly fleshed characters, unpack two mysteries and explore a potential romantic layer in the relationship of the titular characters. It already feels overcrowded and at times tiring, especially towards the end where everything is laid out and plot twist after plot twist are revealed.

Holmes, played by Lucy Farrett, is a ball of peculiar energy, has a flair for the dramatic and uses big gestures with intensely comic facial expressions. It’s an interesting interpretation, but it ignores the character’s genius and leans more to high-stakes comedy. Watson, played by Simona Brown, doesn’t seem to diverge from the same level of tension and frustration with everything that’s happening and Holmes’ behaviour. Tendai Humphrey Sitima and Alice Lucy complete the rest of the cast, playing multiple characters; they both gain laughter from the audience, but the multi rolling gets a tad dull in its overplayed boldness.

Under Sean Turner’s direction, this modern adaptation is what I imagine the movie Clue would look like if the actors were trained in Commedia dell’arte. The physical comedy is entertaining, but there are moments where it feels forced and stagnant. It’d be interesting to see some more variation to help the audience keep up and be genuinely surprised by the script.

One of the most exciting aspects of this production is the hyper-realistic set, an intriguing clutter of items, secret entrances and two levels that provide a visual enhancement to the story. Set designer Max Dorey didn’t hold back and the complicated stage configuration could also be a physical representation of Holmes’ idiosyncratic brain and unusual thought processing. Lighting, by David Howe, and sound, by Hattie North, help immensely with the different locations, as well as with highlighting the comedic tone of the narrative.

It’s a funny show that does a fine job in entertaining its audience, without the need to be particularly familiar with the source material. Yet, there is a lot going on, from the witty jokes, the constant moving around and surprises that seem to never end, and you can’t help but feel exhausted by the time the show ends.

Tag Archives: Stephanie Christodoulidou

GECKO – THE WEDDING

★★★

Sadler’s Wells East

GECKO – THE WEDDING

Sadler’s Wells East

★★★

“An inspiring, well-loved piece of physical theatre”

GECKO – THE WEDDING

Sadler’s Wells East

Reviewed on 21st January 2026

by Stephanie Christodoulidou

Photography by Malachy Luckie

GECKO

GECKO

GECKO

MS. HOLMES & MS. WATSON – APT 2B

★★★

Arcola Theatre

MS. HOLMES & MS. WATSON – APT 2B

Arcola Theatre

★★★

“a funny show that does a fine job in entertaining its audience”