Review HEMATOMA by Kieran Dee at Lion and Unicorn Theatre 8 - 12 June 2021
Chris Lilly • Jun 12, 2021
Kieran Dee comes on at the Lion and Unicorn wearing a white tee shirt and black trousers, with nothing else on the stage except a battered office chair on castors, and then demonstrates for sixty scintillating minutes that he doesn't need anything else to take us around the world, to meet dozens of well-drawn characters, to understand fear and grief and friendship and why you should avoid sentimental pop songs if you're sad.
The narrator, Kieran (played by Kieran Dee - what are the chances?) has a space inside his head and it bothers him. He tries to fill it by travel, by new experiences like sky-diving or driving a manual transmission car across Australia without understanding how the clutch works, and by meeting people, lots of people, all different, all informing Kieran's journey for good or ill. The show is written and performed by Kieran Dee, subtly directed by Grace Millie, and sympathetically lit by someone who doesn't get a credit but does a splendid job.
If I was looking for things to criticise, the Lion and Unicorn's stage is a wonderfully versatile playing space, but it isn't beautiful, and we got to look at it quite a lot. And some of the lighting states were a fraction slow to fade up, which I am absolutely certain was an actor's or director's choice, since whoever was on the board was in sync with Kieran Dee like a second actor. These are such teeny complaints, though. The show was pure performance magic, pure story-telling, superb character work. It was funny and sad and moving, and when you got the chance to sit back and think about it, when you weren't being blown away by Kieran Dee's acting chops, it was a little bit profound. He didn’t employ big Physical Acting moves, he just showed us his feelings and his friends. His acting wasn’t flashy, it was true.
It is such a privilege to get back into a playing space where I can witness consummate class like this. I have missed it so badly, and Kieran Dee reminds me what it is I've missed. Thank you.
Four stars, because I'm saving five stars for something that alters my idea of what theatre can be. Four stars is my idea of extraordinarily good.
MOON LOAF THEATRE COMPANY PRESENTS:
HEMATOMA by Kieran Dee
Lion and Unicorn Theatre 8 - 12 June 2021
WRITTEN BY: Kieran Dee
DIRECTED BY: Grace Millie
DURATION: 1 Hour (No Interval) - Latecomers will not be admitted.
WEBSITE: moonloaf.co.uk
TWITTER: @moon_loaf
Reviewer: Chris Lilly, read Drama at Hull University in the 70s, stage-managed a bit, spent 8 years as a Community arts worker in Tower Hamlets, did the occasional tech jobs, then taught in East London and participated in shed-loads of community theatre. Since retiring, he has indulged a passion for Theatre and is currently taking an MA in Theatre at the University of Surrey. chris.lilly.work@gmail.com
We are very proud to announce that LONDON PUB THEATRES MAGAZINE is now an OFFIE AWARD WINNING publication
A ONEOFF Special Award has been awarded to London Pub Theatres Magazine and Editor Heather Jeffery for providing a vital forum for highlighting the excellent work that happens in rooms in pubs, with sensitive editing, and an acute sense of the importance of tiny fringe venues to the health and development of British Theatre