REVIEW: IN OTHER WORDS by Matthew Seager at Arcola Theatre 5-30 September 2023 + UK tour

‘Heartbreaking story of love and dementia’ ★★★★★ 

Arthur and Jane are deeply in love. They live an everyday sort of life, with a shared passion for Frank Sinatra, and a relationship filled with laughter and kindness. And then Arthur develops dementia.
 
Going backwards and forwards in time, In other words is a love story that tells the tale of Arthur and Jane from the moment they met through Arthur’s deterioration to the point where none of the man he was remains. His increasingly exhausted wife and carer never loses her compassion and love for her husband.
 
Matthew Seager was astounding as Arthur. He switched effortless in and out of the physical and vocal mannerisms of the different stages of his character’s dementia. Lianne Harvey was excellent as his wife Jane. Her beautifully judged performance was heartbreaking but never overly sentimental. The chemistry between the actors was perfect.
 
Andy Routledge’s direction ensured the production was perfectly paced. Matthew Seager’s writing is superbly judged. It would have been easy to slip into self-indulgence, but Seager avoids all those traps and brings across the humanity of the characters and their situation with honesty and poignancy.
 
This revival of an award-winning play is produced in partnership with Music for Dementia. This was a 5 star show and then some.

Photography credit: Tom Dixon

IN OTHER WORDS by Matthew Seager

Arcola Theatre plus UK Tour

5-30 September 2023

Box office: 020 7503 1646 / arcolatheatre.com       

Performers: Matthew Seager, Lianne Harvey,

Director: Andy Routledge

Reviewer: Srabani Sen

Srabani is a theatre actress and playwright. As an actress she has performed at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse (The Globe), the Arcola, Southwark Playhouse, The Pleasance and numerous fringe theatres, in a range of roles from Shakespeare to plays by new and emerging writers. She has written several short and full-length plays. Her play Tawaif was longlisted for the ETPEP Finborough award, and her play Vijaya was shortlisted for the Sultan Padamsee Playwrights Award in Mumbai.