Reviews

‘Inventive, funny, sad ’ ★★★★ Pubs and theatres, as the title of our magazine implies, go together like ham and eggs, and Jim Cartwright’s 1989 play marries the pair as an ideal Two. More ideal certainly than the married pair at the heart of the play, the landlord and landlady of a busy pub who play mine host and hostess for their host of customers while privately bickering over a secret sorrow that has both of them hitting the spirits optics as often as the keys to the till. Cartwright’s play features 14 characters in all, each of them played by two actors (Kellie Shirley and Peter Caulfield). This version is also performed not in Greenwich Theatre’s auditorium but in its downstairs bar and studio space, allowing director James Haddrell (the theatre’s long-time artistic director) to make it so fully immersive you may on arrival (spoiler alert) find one of the actors behind the bar serving your pre-show drink. It's a great choice – the use of a real bar and its tables gives the two performers every opportunity to be fully grounded in Cartwright’s pub, a bar with room for mismatched couples, lonely singles, comedy, tragedy, duologue, soliloquy, as they collect glasses, ashtrays, deliver drinks, banter with ‘customers’. Both actors are high-energy from the off, with Caulfield particularly hilarious as an ageing would-be lothario with a bad back and genuinely chilling as a superficially charming controlling husband/boyfriend. Shirley ranges from flirtatious barmaid to sad older woman taking a break from caring for her bedridden husband, and both achieve quick character changes with the help of simple costume markers and a range of accents. Impressive that both location and design leave maximum space for the actors to find the multiple characters each has to play. The show’s not dissimilar in style from what the Coach and Horses up in Soho’s been doing for a few years with Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell, and the decision to use the 40-50-seat bar space rather than the 400-seat upstairs theatre is artistically smart. The initial run’s also been extended to 21 September, ticket sales presumably being encouraging. A popular ‘80s soundtrack featuring Eurythmics, Madness and more (plus a segue to ‘70s Led Zeppelin for the ‘stag party’, a nice added aural gag) helps set the play where Cartwright wrote it, in a working-class northern pub of the old style. Inventive, funny, sad, and with an ending that dances the right side of predictable and mawkish once last orders have rung and the two at the heart of the play are at last with only each other and their heartache. Read LPT interview with director James Haddrell here TWO by Jim Cartwright Directed by James Haddrell Greenwich Theatre 21 Aug - 21 Sept 2025 Box Office: https://greenwichtheatre.org.uk/events/two/ Cast: KELLIE SHIRLEY and PETER CAULFIELD Reviewer: David Weir’s plays include Confessional (Oran Mor, Glasgow) and Better Together (Jack Studio, Brockley, London).

‘Powerful two-hander which needs more time to reach its full potential’ ★★★ ½ Political drama, written and starring award nominated actor Emeka Agada. The story is set in 1991 America, inside a prison, where black revolutionary and former professor awaits execution. Dr Oko receives an unexpected visit from a former student, Asante, who is now a journalist. On the surface it appears that Asante has come to deliver a box full of memorabilia for his former professor, but in fact his visit has far more ominous objectives. In this gripping two hander the pair discuss revolutionary ideals, some activist’s roots in black left leaning Marxism, those who believe in violence but only when ‘they’ strike first. Having knowledge of the appalling history of genocide and dismantling society’s inequalities is what makes Dr Oko radical and whilst as a student Asante was his prospective follower, it didn’t happen. The drama is very complex and reveals something quite fundamental. Asante appears very comfortable with his life, football, Howard University, a family man and a career. It’s the old story, he’s been subsumed into the well-off middle classes leaving others less fortunate, behind. It becomes a story of betrayal, and it really depends upon your politics, as to where your sympathies might lie. Added to this is the mention of drug dependency, rock (crack cocaine) which at one point is smuggled into the prison to entice Dr Oko to use it. He might have need of it considering the brutality of prison, solitary confinement (after assaulting a police officer) and how these things have worked to grind him down. A British audience might struggle with some of the references, and the significance of that period, at the end of Reagan era, if they don’t know much about black American history. However, there are some transferable ideas here, including the struggle for rights, considering how fiercely the Suffragettes fought in Britain. Causing criminal damage, suffering forced feeding and being willing to die for their cause, are amongst some of the most radical aspects. The struggle continued and was eventually won and just look at how comfortable women are now. We owe a debt of gratitude to those who fought for our freedom. Actors Emeka Agada (Dr Oko) and Kenneth Butler (Asante) contrast and glance off each other nicely. Agada as Dr Oko is quietly spoken which enables the flashbacks to his powerful revolutionary speeches to resonate around the black box space. Butler as Asante is an all-American boy (albeit he is black American he has embraced the ideal), with all the confidence of his advantage. Later his conflict of conscience is palpable and so too is a sense of shame. So, two excellent actors, but the show didn’t become as riveting as might be expected. Director Nathaniel Brimmer-Beller leans into thrillers, often with a film noir quality and stylish visuals which gives his work its unique flair. Here, it largely worked well, with voice-overs and sound also showing a stylised approach. However, the themes of Agada’s drama have more depth and history to excavate. Somehow the really big moments don’t land as well as they should. More of a sense of subtext might help, and more of a recognition between the two characters of different states of power play, deceiving each other, or taking each other by surprise. In other words, more provocation and reaction or character development. When Asante’s real motives are revealed, it should be devastating. There is the question of whether Dr Oko is beaten by the events, or he is defiant to the end? The climax to the drama, when he is asked to record his final words, should be tear jerking stuff, but it doesn’t happen. In all probability the actors and director need more time to let the show settle in. Usually, a first night is a preview, and the show really gets on its feet during the run, so let’s hope the show gets picked up for a longer run, to enable it to reach its full potential. Political drama is most welcome right now, with so much horrendous news around the world. We might not learn anything new from Agada’s drama, but it is well written with an understanding of how drama works. His emphasis on human frailty also works well especially as this is something that fascinates an audience. There’s a wealth of talent here and we trust that the drama will be picked up for a longer run. Read interview with Emeka Agada here. The Last Black Messiah at Etcetera Theatre 27 – 29 August 2025 Box Office https://www.citizenticket.com/events/etcetera-theatre/the-last-black-messiah/ Presented by BlackPen Productions & Black Bat Productions Director: Nathaniel Brimmer-Beller Cast: Emeka Agada stars alongside Kenneth Butler, a recent Guildford School of Acting graduate.

 'covers immense ground incisively and rapidly as the show crescendos to its finale' ★★★★ ½ To the victors go the spoils. That is what the teenagers in Arianna Munoz’s play about Ivy League school acceptance seem to think. The play takes place on the day in March when 8 Ivy League schools (Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton, and Yale) inform applicants of who has been accepted (or not) to their highly exclusive schools, at the same time. The students of St Luke’s College Prep, a high school in Texas, are well aware of the statistics: 350,000 students apply for a place but only 21,000 are accepted (a 6% rate). These universities become a brand of their own, with their scholarships, sports, sororities. A straight-forward staging with table and chair, and almost symbolically, the colourful pennants of American universities are hung on the wall: 3 Ivy schools (looming large), others not (smaller, almost illegible). The set is secondary, though, because it is the tension of the people in the room that churns harder as time gets closer to the hour of acceptance. At the centre of the story is Andrea (Andy) Martinez, convincingly played by Hanna Balogun, whose immigrant father works two jobs for her to attend St Luke’s in the hopes of her eventually walking the hallowed halls of Harvard. She also has worked hard and feels the pressure to achieve these lofty goals. Even her scholarship to the illustrious NYU (New York University) doesn’t soften this. Andy’s best friend Hailey, playfully portrayed by Lola Gordine, arrives, and we learn about her level-headed views. Sporting her new university’s sweatshirt, Kenyon represents a good university program for creative writing not generally accepted as being worthy by this ambitious crew. As others arrive, the space becomes squeezed with personalities. Rachel, smoothly and cagily approached by Bella Tran, enters with her athlete boyfriend Lee (Victor Daniels), who is aiming for a shot at Princeton. Lee is soft-spoken, almost shy, until he finds his voice facing off against Berni (Marques Monteiro), the wealthy international student, who seems more confident about entry to the ivy schools because of his large future tuition payments. As the group decides not to talk about the present anxious moment, and try to bring the teenage banter to the forefront, they succumb once again to the day’s concerns. Finally, Jack's (Ryan Keys) entrance accentuates the pressure with his smarmy attitude as a ‘legacy candidate’ (his parents and previous generations attended Harvard, giving him a higher chance of entry). The group’s electric dialogue becomes even more pacy and the audience is riveted. I sometimes wondered if a UK audience could fully understand the terminology (such as College Board, SATs, and Common App) or the stakes at play, but the ensemble really put forth superb energy to show how much the decisions mattered to them, while also bringing forth the identity politics that play into the consummation of Ivy Day. In the end, this piece confronts more than this one day. It covers immense ground incisively and rapidly as the show crescendos to its finale. Ironically, in today’s American political climate, the Ivy schools are facing their own pressure cooker and the students may be the only ones to decide their future. Photography credit: Kinga Anna Dulka (@kingadulka.photo on Instagram) IVY DAY at The Hope Theatre, part of Camden Fringe Written by Arianna Muñoz Performed by Hannah Balogun, Victor Daniels, Lola Gordine, Ryan Keys, Marques Monteiro, Bella Tran Directed by Arianna Munoz Assistant Director: Molly Byrne Lighting Director: Evan Woods Instagram: ivyday.theplay

“Romantic, sensual, delicate and mysterious” ★★★ ½ Down at the Jack Studio Theatre, you'll find a testament to what you can achieve with two people and a black box. In Lightbulbs by TJ Roderick and Heather Woodhouse, two young men, Oran (Reuben Oladehin) and Ezekiel (Max Burns), orbit each other and the possibility of a deep and lasting love. In kaleidoscopic shards and snapshots we see their collision, their insecurities, and their growth, as a couple whose only barrier to love is themselves. The play describes itself as an absurdist take on modern queer "situationships" (that modern phenomenon about unofficial relationships of circumstance). I wouldn't call it absurdist myself, or a situationship, but it does do a couple of remarkable things in its elegant inquiry into love and romance. So though it does have its elements, calling Lightbulbs absurdist, for me, could be a bit of an excuse for opacity and occasional eagerness for poeticism. For instance, there's a touch of muddled metaphors with moths and lightbulbs, which I don't think is deliberate. The characters are described as lightbulbs, but are very clearly represented by a recurring motif of the moth. Don't get me wrong, there are some really nice, borderline profound lines dusted through some slightly bum imagery: a moth landing on water is described as "dipping its toes in", which puzzled me because...well, moths don't have toes. For me though, the biggest flaw is that it undermines its own maturity by focusing too much on selling itself as an examination of "situationships". I personally think that that insistence devalues its ability to connect with a huge range of people, who'll find their own love stories and life experiences in these characters. There's something a bit different to absurdism going on here. So I don't think this play is doing what it thinks it's doing: I actually think it's on the verge of doing something much better. In the style of some other great two-handers on love and relationships – let's say Constellations by Nick Payne, Heisenberg by Simon Stephens, or Cock by Mike Bartlett (okay, not a two-hander but you get what I mean…) – Lightbulbs has the potential for quiet profundity in the everyday. It shows us with simplicity the undertow of evolving feelings, shared memories, and comforting familiarity, moving with the changing tides of time and self-acceptance. If you lean in closely though, you'll feel the autobiographical edges, which make it seem obvious to the writer what's going on while the audience hasn't got a clue. It's not clear what the timeframe of this relationship is, for example, how long it lasts, or where they are. We know one of them is twenty-two at one point, but they seem to grow into several years' worth of domesticity by the end. This is what I mean about the opacity that I'm not always sure is deliberate. Without those earnest performances by Oladehin and Burns, and the accomplished execution overall, it could stumble into being self-involved, disguised as absurdism. It doesn't, but it's close. Where this piece really excels though is in its movement (no credit given for this, so perhaps it's director TJ Roderick's doing). Wow. These are two very physically demanding roles, and the performers deliver balletic strength and grace without hardly breaking into a sweat. They leap and tangle around the stage. The push-and-pull and tug-of-war of love is rendered in dance and limbs, gliding across time and space and memory and all four corners of the dark. All the world's a stage here and all of life is danced upon it. This is where incredible movement design meets terrific direction, as an evolving relationship unfolds in front of us and takes us further into the psyche than theatre would usually allow. We see it carved out in choreography and light. That skillful synthesis of Liam Walton-Bell's magnificently haunting lighting design and Andrés Peña, Parsa Valiany, and Emma Haines' stirring music achieves a rare and moving depth. These elements are the absolute stand-out. The chiaroscuro on stage weighs heavily like heartbreak, turning the actors into a Caravaggio as they play out their love. In its final third though it runs the risk of meandering, growing perhaps unintentionally repetitive, but for me it just about gets away with it. That's kind of the theme overall with this piece. It's on the precipice of being something great. As it is though, it's not entirely clear what's going on, which can often lead to the common trap of bloating into self-satisfaction and grandiosity. In this case, it does manage to avoid that. Just about. And, to be fair, that is an achievement in itself. Instead, Lightbulbs allows for personal interpretation and reading by the audience. Every relationship can be found in this story somewhere. It feels open and inviting and culminates in a powerful and satisfying end. The whole thing is romantic, sensual, delicate and mysterious, and the queerness element is handled gracefully, without being alienating or clichéd. This is a gentle and understated piece of theatre. It's not perfect, but there, in the darkness, just about, is the flickering of distant brilliance. Production photos by Maria Rangoni Lightbulbs Written by Heather Woodhouse & TJ Roderick Directed by TJ Roderick Produced by Woodhouse&Roderick Performances by Reuben Oladehin and Max Burns Jack Studio Theatre, 19 – 23 August 2025 Box Office: https://brockleyjack.co.uk/jackstudio-entry/lightbulbs-2/ Reviewed by Alix Owen

 “The strongest asset of this production is undoubtedly its cast. Every performer demonstrates impressive vocal ability” ★★★ Neal Hampton and Jeffrey Haddow’s musical adaptation of Sense & Sensibility brings Jane Austen’s beloved Dashwood sisters to the stage with both warmth and ambition. The tale lends itself naturally to operatic treatment: Elinor, composed and bound by duty, lives by reason and society’s rules, while Marianne, impetuous and unrestrained, follows her heart in defiance of them. Their intertwined journeys tell a story of love, heartbreak, betrayal, repression, and social scrutiny, offering fertile ground for music to amplify the drama. The strongest asset of this production is undoubtedly its cast. Every performer demonstrates impressive vocal ability, with expressive, richly nuanced singing that carries the emotional weight of the story. Rachael Liddell imbues Elinor with quiet strength and dignity, balancing restraint with vulnerability, while her lyrical voice elevates every scene she inhabits. Elora Ledger makes a striking Marianne, her headstrong passion underscored by an impressive and powerful vocal range; her dual role as Lucy Steele is well judged, though the decision to give Lucy an American accent feels puzzling given the character’s Exeter roots. James Beddoe captures Edward’s hesitant charm with comic precision, rendering his faltering romance with Elinor both believable and affecting. Alexandra Cowell tackles three roles with gusto, though at times her tendency to overplay for laughs sometimes blunts Austen’s natural wit and subtlety. Nonetheless, Cowell’s vocal power is undeniable and commanding. The live trio of piano, violin, and cello are an absolute triumph, delivering a lush, textured score that feels both intimate and expansive. They anchor the performance with polish and sensitivity throughout. The musical material itself is more uneven. The score contains passages of elegance, but too many lyrics veer towards the obvious, reiterating rather than deepening character or conflict. The dialogue, meanwhile, leans too heavily on advancing the plot, often at the expense of nuance. Characters such as Mrs. Jennings are tasked with relaying missing scenes, while a chorus, stilted both in movement and delivery, fills in narrative gaps. Moments of humour tend towards the broad and obvious rather than Austen’s trademark dry wit. Though amusing at times, the overall effect is one-note, sacrificing the subtlety and precision that give Austen’s dialogue its endearing charm. The production’s design and staging present its greatest challenges. The bare brick wall of the Arcola, though effective for some productions, jars against the Regency setting of Sense & Sensibility. Fiddly props and brisk scene changes create an impression of haste rather than economy, and the absence of key moments - such as Marianne’s first meeting with Willoughby - occur off-stage, reducing their dramatic impact. Structurally, Marianne’s story arc dominates, leaving Elinor’s resolution underplayed; and her final moments are played for comedy where emotional resonance was needed. With a clearer design concept and more inventive staging; Austen’s world might have been more convincingly realised. Ultimately, this Sense & Sensibility is uneven but frequently rewarding. Exceptional performances and outstanding musicianship are undermined by underdeveloped staging, dialogue that prioritises plot over nuance, and structural imbalance. However, there is much to admire - and with greater refinement, it could evolve into a work that truly matches the calibre of its cast. Box Office: Grimeborn Opera: Sense & Sensibility, The Musical - Arcola Theatre Ensemble: Elora Ledger Alexandra Cowell John Faal James Beddoe Rachael Liddell Matthew Tilley Creatives: Alexandra Cowell - Director Guy Murgatroyd - Musical Director Jeffrey Haddow - Book and lyrics Neal Hampton - Music Elora Ledger - Producer Charlotte Tingley - Company Stage Manager Daryl Giuliano - Cello Felicity Broome-Skelton - Violin

‘Bowers highlights the absurdities of life with straight faced irony’ ★★★★ Another sold out night for fresh Graduate and former Cambridge Footlight performer, Sameera Bhalotra Bowers. An hour of stand-up sketch comedy loosely linked by her current predicament: what to do with her degree in Law and Economics. Bowers comments on academia, and the absurdities of life with a sense of irony which also infuses her delivery. She neatly highlights a common objection to the most obscure and petty research with some of her sketches. An Economist and Geographer argue in the jargon of their own subjects on the best place to locate a sea hotel and eventually compromise. Academics research whether it would be possible to make cows spherical, “but we’re barrel shaped”. Bowers gives a nod to the obsession of getting media coverage and the need to tick inclusion boxes with a sketch about landing the role as the Indian face on the Final Pathway Manor Nursing Home brochure. The nursing home is a recurrent theme during the hour of comedy and allows her to give a poignant mention of her own grandfather. This is the moment that Bowers steps out of the public domain and into something far more personal and she allows it to show. It’s deeply felt and an interesting juxtaposition with her lighter material. A therapist called ‘Crystal’ is also neatly portrayed, with a nod to the very fashionable Gestalt therapy that emphasizes the importance of being fully present in the moment. She’s all flowing scarves, and softly spoken mysticism. It easily has the feeling of a whole culture, and could offer further material. Bowers also uses rhyme, audience participation and puppetry. The audience seems quite willing to take part, and one wonders how Bowers would cope with a less eager response. The rhyming is cheesy, but this is comedy, whereas the puppetry is quite complex, a GPS system going in two different directions with her uncle and father at the wheel. This might need a little more definition and again, could offer larger, rip roaringly funny material. Nevertheless, it all adds to the invention of the show and allows more variety keeping the attention on her performance. Bowers ticks a lot of boxes, for originality, having a distinctive voice, being able to highlight the absurdities of our lives today, and not being afraid of offending anyone (whilst keeping a cap on it). It is interesting that the Asian aspect of her show is down-played, which is a refreshing considering so many comedians use their heritage as barbs, but at the same time she’s slipping in one or two comments allowing us to see underneath the skin from time to time. It might be the case that Bowers has found something that she would like to pursue, there are plenty of comedy venues for her to hone her craft. She has plenty of material and an overall sharp observation of the absurd, which could now be developed into more in depth studies and lacerating critique. WHAT IS GOING ON? Sameera Bhalotra Bowers, Camden Fringe at Etcetera Theatre 21 – 23 August 2025 Instagram: sameerabowers

‘Unexpectedly compelling’ ★★★★ This is a refreshingly old fashioned play. The action takes place mostly in a single setting. You have to listen to what is said and there are no theatrical gimmicks. It could very easily be dull but isn’t. Based on Josephine Tey’s 1951 novel, M Kilburg Reddy’s version comes with borrowings from Tey’s other four Inspector Grant novels. Grant (Rob Pomfret) has broken his leg in the course of his duties and is now obliged to spend six weeks in hospital. He is bored and bad tempered until his flighty actress friend, Marta Hallard (Rachel Pickup – nice performance) brings him a photograph of the famous portrait of Richard III. Richard, as nearly every one knows, has long been perceived – largely thanks to Shakespeare – as a villainous, ruthless, power-hungry murderer, guilty of infanticide. Grant studies the face, decides that this benign, wise looking man can’t have done what he is blamed for and sets out to prove his innocence. Of course – with the help of a young researcher and his friend/colleague from the Met – he eventually succeeds. At the same time there are two gentle 1950s-style love stories winding their way along in the background. Both are eventually resolved happily The history is carefully researched despite flaws in Tey’s argument which becomes a quasi-courtroom scene in a hospital room. And court room scenes generally make good drama. I thought it was a fine novel when I first read it in my teens and – although by then I was more au fait with the background history – I quite liked it again when I reread it a couple of years ago. Now it also makes an unexpectedly compelling play. And although I remain unconvinced that it was the Duke of Buckingham wot-did-it, I can suspend disbelief long enough to appreciate this piece. Pomfret’s central performance is nicely sustained as he goes from being a curmudgeonly “bad” patient to a professional detective at work. He is horizontal in bed for most of the play’s two and three quarter hours and that can’t be easy. He gets a brief respite when Noah Huntley (good) as actor, Nigel Templeton treats us to extracts from his current play at the Old Vic – Richard III of course – in front of a traditional red velvet curtain. There are also some short scenes when Templeton and Marta meet in the Ivy which is nicely depicted on a half stage flat, complete with distinctive diamond stained glass. The support cast is generally strong although Hafsa Abbasi, as one of three nurses looking after Grant, isn’t always audible from Row H. Harrison Sharpe is entertaining as the earnest, excitable young American researcher, Brent Carradine. And Sanya Adegbola is enjoyably naturalistic as Grant’s gravelly, no nonsense sidekick. Janna Fox, the nurse who listens patiently to Grant’s developing theories and constantly pours cold water on them, adds dramatic tension and a lot of humour. It’s quite a treat to see such satisfyingly grown up theatre. It doesn’t set out to be “edgy” or to explore difficult territory but sustains interest throughout. Take it on its own terms and The Daughter of Time is rather good. Photography: Manuel Harlan THE DAUGHTER OF TIME by M. Kilburg Reedy, adapted from Josephine Tey  Charring Cross Theatre 18 JULY - 13 SEPTEMBER 2025 BOX OFFICE https://charingcrosstheatre.co.uk/theatre/the-daughter-of-time Directed by Jenny Eastop Produced by Excelsior Entertainment and Mercurius Theatre The production’s cast includes: Hafsa Abassi Sanya Adegbola Janna Fox Noah Huntley Rachel Pickup Rob Pomfret Harrison Sharpe The cast also includes: Henry Douthwaite Sophie Doyle Gregor Roach Creatives: Author: M. Kilburg Reedy Novelist: Josephine Tey Director: Jenny Eastop Set and Costume Designer: Bob Sterrett Lighting Designer: Oliver McNally Composer: Haddon Kime Sound Designer: Andrew Johnson Hair, Wigs, and Makeup: Diana Estrada Hudson Casting: Neil Rutherford Key Art: Kurt Firla Production Manager: James Anderton Produced by Excelsior Entertainment, Mercurius Theatre, and Steven M. Levy for Charing Cross Theatre Productions Limited.

‘an admirable experiment — bold in its ambition, if still in need of focus’ ★★★ And Tonight No One Descends is an ambitious piece that seeks to grapple with the weight of pain, trauma, and survival in contemporary life. The production combines live cinema with Jirai Kei–inspired costuming — a Japanese subculture aesthetic often translated as “landmine style.” While visually striking, the reference may not fully resonate with audiences unfamiliar with its context, and at times risks feeling more like elaborate costume play than an organically integrated dramaturgical choice. The visuals are strong: surreal costumes, layered projections, and live camera work create a striking stage picture. However, these elements do not always cohere into a unified theatrical language. With multiple focal points — two performers, simultaneous video projections, and offstage manipulation — the audience’s attention often felt divided, diluting the overall impact. For a conceptual piece with such stylised costuming, the acting style needs to be more consciously defined. Whether leaning into naturalism, surrealism, or expressionism, the performances here felt undecided, at times slipping into simple recitation of text. Without a clear acting style, the genre of the work remained blurred, and its emotional core was harder to grasp — especially with so many competing elements on a small stage. In terms of writing, the recurring use of the word “pain” lacked specificity. While the production gestures toward universal suffering, it rarely delves into textured or detailed accounts that might ground the abstraction in lived experience. Greater attention to the nuances and textures of trauma could make the piece far more affecting. That said, the sincerity of the work is unmistakable. The creators clearly have something urgent they wish to express, and there are many intriguing materials to build on. With further refinement and sharper integration of its theatrical languages, the production has the potential to evolve into something much more powerful. As it stands, And Tonight No One Descends is an admirable experiment — bold in its ambition, if still in need of focus. One hopes the company continues to develop their methods to fully match the scale of their vision. And Tonight No One Descends Camden Fringe Venue: Etcetera Theatre 20 – 24 August 2025 Box office https://camdenfringe.com/events/and-tonight-no-one-descends/ Cast Natalie Luo- A Dorry Dong- B Production Team Xinyi Huang- Playwright/ Director/ Costume Supervisor Xinyi Yin- Producer/ Video Designer Ruolin Lei- Art Director Jingwen Lu- Executive Producer Hongrui Yao- Stage Manager Jieming Lan- Costume Designer/Maker Yuqing Wang- Lighting Designer Aiqian Song- Voice Coach Xufeng (Styles) Li- Assistant Director Jash- Sound Designer Fei Han- Supervisor

‘Alexa, what would my mum say to that?’ A beautifully-crafted tribute to mothers around the world. ★★★★ This fantastically moving and warm play follows Ann, as she prepares to host a celebration of her mother’s life, struggling with how to craft the best eulogy. Nikol Kollars is able to capture the frustration in not being able to find the words to reflect how you feel at a time like this. The audience watches as Ann moves through a variety of well-written stories and characters as she searches for the right words, and portrays the different stages of grief in a truly engaging way. Set within a ‘eulogy simulation’, the automated ‘Alexa’ voice works well to mediate the upsetting stories and themes, and offers light relief at appropriate intervals. ‘Alexa’ is used sparingly enough to accompany Ann’s thoughts and occasionally respond to her remarks, but also reminds us that most eulogies sadly follow the same script, and tell the same stories. The passing of Ann’s mother – a COVID denier - from COVID 19 is an especially moving addition and adds a whole other level of frustration for Ann. Looking in on her mother’s life, Ann learns to forgive her mother’s mistakes. The audience is faced with the memory of someone whose life ended in this way, giving into lies and misinformation, but whose daughter is still able to pay tribute to her by remembering the beautiful parts of her life. Ann occasionally questions whether her mother is listening, and leads her to ask the age-old question, ‘who is this for, anyway?’ Is a funeral for the living, or for the dead – and, if for the living, why can it not be a celebration? Ann acknowledges that actually celebrating a death doesn’t make sense, and so there is a beautiful balance of mourning and revisiting memories. The passage on Christmas is one I found particularly moving, the set and props used perfectly to illustrate Ann’s experience. The dialogue is well-crafted and always fits well within the structure of the play. Despite the dialogue being creative and – at times – quite funny, it is very rarely overused; silence and meditation are also important parts of this play. Kollars’ performance is fantastic, and she is able to conduct the show from an incredibly small space, with various props at arm’s length around her. Kollars has created an emotionally and physically demanding role that is well-suited to the genre, and to the theatre space, too. Fickle Eulogy reminds the audience that, while we grow up idolising our parents, they’re only human; a wonderful song of praise for mothers everywhere. Photography: Isadora Baccon Fickle Eulogy at The Hope Theatre 16 – 18 August 2025 Written and performed by – Nikol Kollars Directed by - Javier Galitó-Cava Reviewer Seb Gardiner Seb is a playwright currently based in Reading.