Review: ALL THAT by Shaun Kitchner, directed by James Callàs Ball at The Kings Head Theatre 27 July - 21 August 2021

‘... exactly what theatre needs today. Diverse, unapologetic and thoughtful.’ ★★★★

My first visit to the Kings Head Theatre space, having previously seen a production of theirs at a ‘Site Specific’ venue. I was made to feel incredibly welcome and safe, before being guided into the intimate and naturalistic looking set, exciting! 

‘All That’ by the brilliant Shaun Kitchner, gives us a glimpse into the life of Taylor (Jordan Laviniere) and Riley (Chris Jenkins), a modern day gay couple living in the UK. The pair has recently fallen on hard times financially and must now rent out their spare bedroom, Jamie (Imran Adams) and his partner Parker (Matt Greenwood) are viewing the property, they move in- and over 90 minutes we see how the different couples intertwine into each other’s lives. ‘All That’ is a play that needs to be seen, so I won’t go into details and drop any spoilers. 

Kitchner writes a cheeky yet fiery text that explores many important themes. What he does so well is often display both sides of an argument in a balanced way and doesn’t display too many of his own opinions to the audience. Laviniere as Taylor is terrifically conflicted. We also truly feel that we are in his house, the actor’s relationship to the space works very well to draw the audience in. Credit here too for director James Callàs Ball, who no doubt worked with his cast on the importance of differentiating relationships to the space throughout the play. 

Firstly, introduced as shy, before becoming a passionate conversationalist- Imran Adams is wonderful as Jamie, as an actor he is so natural which made complete sense after reading that this was his stage debut, following on from some TV and Film success. Matt Greenwood’s ‘Parker’ gives us a catalogue of emotions without dipping into playing any emotional states- they don’t shy away or hide in the character, which as an audience member is exactly what we want to see. Parker is complex but they are also incredibly relatable, props to Matt and Kitchner for this. Chris Jenkins as Riley is a powerhouse. He effortlessly glides through the character arch whilst being anchored into this space which means so much to the character. Top notch and bold performances all round.

Aside from a few too many false exits and a couple of moments in the text that felt repeated (mostly between Taylor and Jamie) ‘All That’ is exactly what theatre needs today. Diverse, unapologetic and thoughtful. A play that shows multiple sides of different arguments while allowing us to put together some of the pieces ourselves. 

Photography credit: Lidia Crisafulli

Playing until 21st August at The Kings Head Theatre. 

Tickets here: https://dev.kingsheadtheatre.com/whats-on/all-that

Reviewed by Aaron-Lee Eyles,

Aaron-Lee is an actor, writer and director based in West London. They are passionate about diverse and innovative small-scale theatre. Aaron has had plays performed at The Cockpit, Bread and Roses and Hen and Chickens Theatre, he cannot wait to get started on his next project.