AT LAST review/Lion and Unicorn Theatre, Kentish Town/Showing until 22nd September 2019/extended run 3 - 7 December 2019

Fred Lintern • Sep 17, 2019
NOTE: By popular demand this production is extended for five nights - 3 - 7 December 2019.  It has also been nominated for a Standing Ovation by one of our senior reviewers, Kate Pettigrew

‘Uniformly excellent performances and good directing make it a great watch’ ★★★★

There is much to recommend AT LAST at the Lion and Unicorn Theatre in Kentish Town. The play is well acted, ambitious and thoughtful. In attempting to combine an epic scope with scenes of intimacy, we see it occasionally struggling to find the right balance. But the uniformly excellent performances and good directing make it a great watch.

In a nightmarish ‘what if?’ scenario, an authoritarian right-wing government has taken control of modern Britain. Walls are erected everywhere, keeping the country closed off from the outside world, and those inside Britain are constantly monitored for signs of rebellion. There are curfews and ID Cards. People are going mysteriously missing. Others are acquiescing, even finding comfort and meaning in it. We flicker forward and backward in time, from the beginnings of the regime’s ascendance, to its inevitable decline, and to the questions that remain for those affected. 

Clearly, Brexit hangs heavily over the play. Regardless of your political persuasion, everyone, surely, can agree on this: When far-flung teenage aliens begin studying our species for their Inter-Galactic A-Levels, none of their cyber-textbooks will give ‘Britain, 2016-2019’ as an example of a human democracy functioning reasonably well. Only time will tell whether or not Brexit Britain actually turns into a dystopia. But a strong clue is given by the reported existence of the Government’s ludicrously ominous ‘Operation Black Swan’ documents, which apparently detail the government stockpiling bodybags. Y’know. Just in case. 

Please don’t judge me for being flippant – when I get nervous, I make jokes. But AT LAST is certainly not joking, and while there are a few moments of humour that burst through, the picture it paints is very bleak. This has its positives and its negatives. In terms of positives, the play has a bracing emotional charge and energy to it. Some scenes become quite hard to watch, and the tension never lets up. In terms of negatives, the precise nature of the authoritarian government – of its aims and ideologies – is slightly glossed, becoming essentially psychopathic. But we are left to wonder – who other than a psychopath would prop up such a regime? With no specific policies other than ‘total control’, it becomes a bit of a vague background.  

This brings us on to the staging. At times, At Last felt like one of the vanishingly rare live performances that felt like it would work best as a TV series. Only because there are lots of characters, all with individual stories that weave in and out of the stage – and because most of the plot is told through direct address. The aim is to present us with a diverse range of stories. We hear from agitators, mums, prisoners and enforcers. The issue is whether they can come together to give us a coherent picture of a society under immense pressure. 

But as I say, the cast are uniformly excellent. Particular praise can go out to Malcolm Jeffries as Asper, the man propping up regime, as well as brothers Michael Faulkner (Jack) and David Angland (Danny). The scenes they have together toward the end of the play are heartbreaking. And Melissa Phillips gives a commanding performance in the central role of Grace,  the lawyer tasked with making sense of the destruction the regime has wrecked on families across Britain. The cast’s subtle and realistic performances give the play its depth and bring to life the everyday struggles that people go through when faced with extraordinary situations. 


At Last, Presented by Proforca 
The Lion and Unicorn Theatre
Kentish Town, London NW5 2ED
On until Sunday 22nd September

Written by James Lewis & Alexander Knott
Directed by David Brady
Associate Director: Jess Barton

Cast
David Angland - Danny 
Anthony Fagan - Colin 
Michael Faulkner - Jack 
Malcolm Jeffries - Asper 
Demelza O'Sullivan - Marie 
Melissa Phillips - Grace 
Gemma Wray - Nikki 
Ciaran Lonsdale – Sam
Creatives
Mitchell Reeve - Lighting Design 
Samuel Heron – Composer

Reviewer Fred Lintern is a PhD Candidate in Theatre and Performance at King's College London. He has an MA in Performance Studies, and has attended the Royal Court Young Writers Programme.

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