Review – The Tempest, RSC at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon Avon, 28th May 2026

Posted on May 29, 2026 by therealchrisparkle

©Johan Persson

The RSC’s new production of The Tempest is significant in more ways than one. Prospero is played by one of our most experienced Shakespearean actors Sir Kenneth Branagh; and the production is directed by the prodigious and highly respected Sir Richard Eyre, making his RSC debut at 83 years old. It’s no surprise that if you check the box office there isn’t a seat to be had for the entire run.

©Johan Persson

Probably Shakespeare’s swansong play, and his second shortest (only The Comedy of Errors has fewer lines), Prospero, the rightful Duke of Milan and magician to boot, has escaped from his usurping brother with just his daughter Miranda and his precious books to a remote island where the only inhabitant is the “savage and deformed” slave, Caliban. He also has the services of the spirit Ariel to call upon when he wants to get things done. Scholars have argued over the centuries about the extent to which Prospero is Shakespeare, winding up his creative career and putting the finishing touches to his magic before a brave new world comes in and takes over. Sounds fair to me, and nothing in this production argues against that.

©Johan Persson

But such intellectual debate is of little concern in Eyre’s new production, which is all about the magic. The first couple of minutes make the production’s approach to the play crystal clear. Prospero, having borrowed the sorcerer’s cloak from Disney’s Fantasia, masterminds the action from his music stand as he conducts the magic that causes the famous opening shipwreck scene. It’s an outstanding start, combining the best of Bob Crowley’s set, Fotini Dimou’s costume design, Hugh Vanstone’s lighting and Nicola T Chang’s sound design.

©Johan Persson

One of this production’s strengths is its excellent storytelling – and that opening scene is a prime example. We can see that Prospero’s magic has caused the storm simply by using our eyes, so that when the text in the following scene actually explains that is the case, it’s confirming something we already know. This frees up that scene between Prospero and Miranda to reveal a comedy element that I’m not sure I was aware ever existed there before.

©Johan Persson

The sense of magic, as well as of a remote, maybe tropical island, is enhanced by Akintayo Akinbode’s and Stephen Warbeck’s evocative musical compositions, played with plaintive power by four musicians. It’s especially effective in its accompaniment to the appearances of Amara Okereke’s Ariel, an almost ever-present spirit who flies in, Peter Pan-like, and performs all her scenes mid-air. Ms Okereke has a glorious voice which makes Ariel’s songs both more meaningful and more beautiful. Ariel is bound to serve Prospero until he fulfils his promise to set her free; her moment of freedom comes when he finally releases her harness, enabling her to set foot on land.

©Johan Persson

Also bound to Prospero, but firmly earthed to ground, Ashley Zhangazha’s Caliban cuts far from the traditional presentation of the role, as a dignified, eloquent, finely voiced chap. The joke that Miranda falls for the first decent-looking young man she ever sees (Ferdinand) doesn’t really work if she’s been around this particular Caliban for any length of time. Maybe it’s just a status thing. When Caliban decides to plot with Stephano and Trinculo to rebel against Prospero, he doesn’t come across as an equal partner in their mischief; more their superior, which only enhances Stephano and Trinculo’s foolishness.

©Johan Persson

Ruby Stokes and Fred Woodley Evans are a superb pairing as Miranda and Ferdinand, who brighten up the stage whenever either of them comes on. Ms Stokes delightfully portrays Miranda’s innocence, albeit with the intent of not remaining innocent for much longer if she can help it. Her scenes with Kenneth Branagh are also a joy, revealing her unquenchable thirst for knowledge. As Ferdinand, Mr Evans nails that sense of slightly bumbling nobility, underpinning his inexperience, but willing to do right by all. He also brings an enjoyable naïve comedy to the role.

©Johan Persson

Elsewhere in the cast, Ashley Zhangazha impresses as this surprisingly urbane Caliban, Henry Pettigrew gives us an amusingly snide and sarcastic Sebastian, and Paul Jesson is every inch the honest and upright Gonzalo, a beacon of goodness amongst a bunch of reprobates. Keir Charles and Guy Henry have the difficult task of making those relatively tedious scenes with Stephano and Trinculo watchable, but Mr Henry in particular does a good job of making his character of Stephano believable, with, what felt like to me, subtle elements of Kenneth Williams and Larry Grayson in his portrayal.

©Johan Persson

But – let’s face it – the big attraction of this production in the return of Sir Kenneth Branagh to the RSC after three decades. Confession: I’ve only seen him on stage once before, when he was a 21-year-old unknown in Another Country at London’s Queen’s (now Sondheim) Theatre, and I was a 21-year-old postgraduate student researching theatre censorship. I knew at the time I was witnessing a very special performer, and if The Real Chrisparkle had existed at the time, I would have described him as One To Watch.

©Johan Persson

What makes him so good in general, and certainly this describes his Prospero in particular, is his ability to take someone else’s words and make them his own. He works his way through Shakespeare’s text making every line sound so natural, so understandable, so fluid. Constantly changing the pace of his narrative, he will rattle through one sentence and then slowly and deliberately pick out individual words in the next sentence to linger over and savour. When Prospero ultimately forgives all the villains who have done him ill in the past, it’s Branagh’s calmness that teaches you this is the way to heal your own heart of all its injuries and sadnesses. Maybe this really was Shakespeare making his final farewell.

©Johan Persson

At its best, this is a superb production with a masterful lead performance. Could it be better? Yes. It’s light on emotion, and surprisingly unadventurous in some technical elements. But who cares? It’s Branagh that you remember.

Four They’re Jolly Good Fellows!

Review – Comedy Crate Mixed Bill at the Malt Shovel, Northampton, 24th May 2026

Posted on May 25, 2026 by therealchrisparkle

What better way to round off a gloriously warm Bank Holiday Sunday than to enjoy an evening of first-class comedy in a traditional English pub? This was one of two Comedy Crate gigs in Northampton on Sunday evening – those nice people at the Comedy Crate are certainly putting their backs into providing our comedy quota, and hurrah for that, I say.

Our host for the evening was Andy Gleeks, late of Ireland and now of Oxfordshire, and what a tremendous live wire he is. Deft at getting to know the audience as well as delivering his own very funny material, he gets the balance between MC and artist perfectly. He has a comfortable, warm persona on stage, coupled with just a little hint of danger – which means he can lull you into a false sense of security and then go for a killer line. He kept the evening going at a great pace and I’d be very happy to see him again.

Our first act – and someone I would normally associate with being a headliner – was the irrepressible Gerry K, another performer who is so gifted at leading you up the garden path with his stories, so you think they’re going to go one way, and then he takes you somewhere totally unexpected. Instantly engaging, he sets up a great rapport with the audience through his enthusiastic confidence and his indomitable cheekiness. With his very relatable material – especially with a middle-aged audience – it’s always a pleasure to spend half an hour in his company.

Next up, and someone we’ve seen once before at the Edinburgh Fringe, was Tim Biglowe, who uses his hippy hair and demeanour to great effect with some well-pitched self-deprecatory jokes, and many sequences of unexpected and original material. Challenging preconceptions, his delivery flows beautifully and dynamically and he had us all in the palm of his hand. An immediately likeable performer, Mr B will surely be a big name of the future.

Headlining was Kevin Daniel, a fifty-nine-year-old Glaswegian (he was very keen that we note his age) who riffs off the audience immaculately, poking good-natured fun at us and getting away with it because he’s simply very funny. His style is to tell longer comic scenarios rather than rattling off a scattergun approach, which works very well as he explores all the humorous possibilities in, for example, an unanticipated prostate examination. Terrific rapport, winning material, and a great way to end what was one of the best mixed bills we’ve seen in a long time.

There are more comedy shows in and around Northampton in the near future from the Comedy Crate as part of their Comedy Festival – don’t miss out on an excellent opportunity to see great comedy!

Review – Birmingham Royal Ballet, BRB2, Carlos Acosta’s Ballet Celebration – Diaghilev and the Birth of Modern Ballet, Royal and Derngate, Northampton, 23rd May 2026

Posted on May 24, 2026 by therealchrisparkle

It’s always a delight to welcome members of the Birmingham Royal Ballet to the Royal and Derngate; this time the dancers were largely drawn from the BRB2 company, their emerging talent and rising stars of the dance world. There was much to thrill and enchant one’s inner balletomane on Saturday night, with a highly entertaining programme of works, all of which were first performed by the Ballets Russes between 1909 and 1924. With the exception of the two short dances from Les Biches, choreographed by Nijinksy’s sister Bronislava Nijinska, all the choreography was by Mikhail Fokine, no finer exponent of the art (imho).

The first part of the evening was devoted a performance of Les Sylphides, with Chopin’s music played live on the piano by Jeanette Wong. That opening tableau is one of the most iconic images in all classical ballet, with the corps de ballet slowly peeling off, whilst the main characters remain unmoving until their dances finally begin. The stark white of the costumes against the dark background creates a powerful impression, and there’s no hiding place during that sequence; any imperfection is instantly noticeable. To be honest, there were a couple of minor wobbles at first, but these were far outweighed by the overall excellent standard of dancing. The pointe work is extraordinary, and the fluidity, grace and delicacy of the performance was superb. My personal favourite sequence was Airi Kobayashi’s Mazurka; Ms Kobayashi has a remarkable lightness of touch, and she was always a sheer delight to watch. Marlo Kempsey-Fagg’s performance as the poet was also very engaging and precise, giving excellent support to his ballerinas, and delivering his solos with style.

After the interval, we had four shorter sequences of dance, starting with what was probably the best individual performance of the show, the pas de deux from Rimsky-Korsakov’s Sheherazade, performed by Yoli Meurisse and Alfie-Lee Hall. The Birmingham Royal Ballet spares no expense on costumes, and this performance truly evoked the exoticism of the east. Ms Meurisse and Mr Hall had tremendous chemistry together, full of playfulness and excitement, and created a very rewarding and enjoyable dance.

Next came Le Spectre de la Rose, with Tom Hazelby giving a riveting performance as the spirit of the rose that falls from the hands of the sleeping young girl as she dreams of the ball she has just attended. Then followed two dances from Les Biches; Airi Kobayashi wickedly rattling her pearls as she performed an elegant Mazurka, and Hannah Martin and Jacopo Bianucci’s witty pas de deux – her, aloof and majestic; him, trying to impress as a strong man straight from the beach.

The final dance was a pas de deux from Stravinksy’s Firebird, a demanding and expressive piece full of angst and power, given a strong performance by Ellyn Knol and Ixan Ferrer. As a finale, the corps de ballet from Les Sylphides returned for a final dance before being joined by all the artists from the other dances; merging all the performers in their disparate costumes demonstrates the range of performance styles, skills and talents that they can all offer. It was a delightfully irreverent final combination and brought an engrossing and beautiful evening of dance to a very positive conclusion. There is one more performance of Carlos Acosta’s Ballet Celebration – Diaghilev and the Birth of Modern Ballet, at the New Theatre Peterborough on 29^th May. Highly recommended!

Four They’re Jolly Good Fellows!

Review – Phil Ellis, Bath Mat, Royal and Derngate, Northampton, 21st May 2026

Posted on May 22, 2026 by therealchrisparkle

Phil Ellis’ first Edinburgh Fringe show was back in 2008, and he was once a contestant on TV’s Taskmaster. Nevertheless, I’d never heard of him until the Royal and Derngate announced his Bath Mat tour on their listings; that was all the impetus we needed to see him for ourselves. As soon as he came on stage, Mrs Chrisparkle felt that he looked like someone else but couldn’t quite put her finger on who. Halfway through the second half it came to her in an instant, and she whispered it to me. She’s absolutely bang on, but you’ll have to read to the end to find out who it is.

Phil Ellis comes at his humour from an unusual angle, embellishing himself as a top drawer, master performer, full of pizzazz and charisma, only to spend the next two hours deflating himself as a plucky loser. Essentially, he takes the showbiz comedy genre and neatly deconstructs it; your all-singing all-laughing comedy genius is in fact just a guy from Preston who’s had to move back in with his parents at the age of 44. To enhance that façade, he is often accompanied by Tom Short; not a traditional, separate support act, but someone engaged to whoop us up in a frenzy of excitement for his first appearance and who crops up occasionally when Mr E needs an extra pair of hands.

It’s a very clever idea and fertile ground for some great self-deprecatory material, which Mr Ellis delivers with great timing, heart and a lot of appeal. He cuts an immensely likeable character on stage; someone we can identify with because no one is really as good as they make themselves out to be. He provides a running commentary on the show, pointing out for example that this part is weak, or that part needs work. His crowd work is fantastic, with a devilish memory for detail; it was fascinating to observe just how confident the audience was in interacting with him. On so many occasions you see a comedian work hard to get comedy gems out of an uncomfortable, unwilling audience member, but Mr E’s audience is always ready to give as good as they get, even heckling themselves at one stage, which is something you don’t often see.

Despite his breezy, light-hearted style, he often takes his comedy where angels fear to tread, for example starting off with an “accidental” image of Ruth rather than Phil Ellis and giving us a few asides about her hanging; or talking about a favourite Auntie who was murdered, but still creating some funny punchlines. At his best, his material soars with an excellent balance of fantastical but not overly-stupid observations. Some of his material fails to connect; a section where he invites the audience to heckle him didn’t work because of its artificiality (the audience members were going to decide for themselves when they were going to shout out, not be told when!) and a good boy/bad boy media projection sequence didn’t really achieve anything. Why is the show called Bath Mat, I hear you ask? Because a bath mat was one of the final straws that ended his previous relationship. Yes, I’m not quite sure I believe that either, but it’s all jokes.

Overall, it’s a very funny couple of hours that at times can have you in hysterics, and others you’ll just be wondering what the heck is this bit all about. Nothing against Mr Short, but I found their interactions the least entertaining aspect to the entire show; Phil Ellis doesn’t need another person on stage to make us realise how funny he is. Bath Mat has been touring the UK since February and, after a couple more dates in May, will continue to tour in September and October.

Leonard Rossiter. Imagine a young Leonard Rossiter doing stand-up. That’s whom he reminded us of!

Review – Driftwood, Royal Shakespeare Company at The Other Place, Stratford-upon-Avon, 18th May 2026

Posted on May 19, 2026 by therealchrisparkle

©Marc Brenner

Martina Laird’s debut play is set in Trinidad, in 1956. British colonial rule was nearing its end as Eric Williams, founder of the People’s National Movement, started forging the path for Trinidad and Tobago to gain independence. Driftwood is set in a gentlemen’s club in the capital, Port of Spain, where Miss Pearl rules the roost together with her daughter Ruby. It’s their home, although the property actually belongs to Mansion, an aging British civil servant, who came to Trinidad in 1920 to arrange a Royal visit by Prince Edward; liked it and stayed on.

Shane David-Joseph, Ellen Thomas and Cat White

©Marc Brenner

Police officer Seldom is an irregular visitor to the club, a jokey blokey with a winning way who collects his money for turning a blind eye – or at least as much of it as Ruby thinks he deserves. This is a society where law is writ small and individuals set their own standards as to what they can get away with. No wonder that when Diamond, Pearl’s long-lost son, turns up unexpectedly, his aim is to carve himself a position within the household where he can take what he feels is his fair share of any freebies going. But is American naval officer Tom, whom he introduces to the club with the prospect of hospitality, drink, and taking Ruby to bed, the right person from whom to take a percentage of illicit proceeds?

©Marc Brenner

1956 was, as it was all over the world, a time of change, and Trinidad was a melting pot of influences. Laird delicately paints in character traits and background details, giving an insight into what life must have been like in Trinidad at that time. Many plot intrigues are touched upon, including a possible powerplay for ownership of the club once Mansion is no more, as well as a thoroughly incestuous moment between Diamond and Ruby. Such intrigues are both a strength and a weakness: a strength inasmuch as they fill out the play with hints of potentially fascinating unexplored backstory, and a weakness because, essentially, they are left dangling until they fizzle out.

©Marc Brenner

Much of the first act is slow exposition, and Driftwood takes a long time to get going properly. Justin Audibert’s direction adopts a slow pace; useful in one respect, as it gives the audience time to grow accustomed to the Trinidadian dialect spoken by the locals. However, it also means that the opening act feels very heavy and sluggish, with only occasional highlights such as the initial conversation between Diamond and Pearl, or when we first meet Tom. We go into the interval feeling that the concentration we have had to give the play hasn’t always been worth it, and it was notable how the audience applause at the interval was slight and muted. However, it comes much more to life after the interval, with an engaging second act that benefits from a stronger narrative.

©Marc Brenner

Essentially, the story boils down to Diamond’s deal with Tom and how, when Diamond doesn’t abide by the agreement, it affects the lives of everyone – primarily himself – when he ends up flying too close to the sun like Icarus. Despite his bravura and confidence, Diamond is revealed to be a small fish who has only just learned to swim in a very big sea.

©Marc Brenner

Sadeysa Greenaway-Bailey has designed a very compact and intimate set, resulting in largely wasted areas Stage Right and Left, and is also positioned extremely highly, meaning anyone in the first few rows (and The Other Place is not a big theatre) has to look up a lot. However, she has created some fantastic costumes for the show – all Ruby’s dresses are perfect for every occasion and make a great contrast with Pearl’s dour outfits. Christella Litras’ music, ably performed unseen by Leroy Johnson and Todd Brand, is evocative and helps set the scene and mood.

©Marc Brenner

The performances are all very good and certainly help lift the play. Cat White is immensely watchable as Ruby, using her very expressive face to help us understand all the character’s emotions. Ellen Thomas’ Pearl is a superb portrayal of someone resigned to a life of pain and underachievement, a no-nonsense parent weary of her responsibilities. Martins Imhangbe creates an imposing figure on stage as Diamond, a chancer always on the lookout for an opportunity, surprisingly fragile in a world that’s more robust than he imagined.

©Marc Brenner

Roger Ringrose gives a very entertaining performance as Mansion, flaunting his white privilege and moneyed education, the kind of man who has never had any doubts about his life because why would he? Shane David-Joseph uses his natural comic ability to great effect as the shifty and quirky officer Seldom, and Ziggy Heath gives a lively performance as Tom, arrogantly manspreading, calling the shots, and giving no ground.

©Marc Brenner

On the upside, this is a well-acted production of a play set in a time and place that rarely gets any attention from British dramatists; consequently, much of the material and background feels fresh and new. On the downside, the play could do with some editing and tidying up, perhaps injecting a little more humour and pace. But, as a first play, Martina Laird shows great promise and may well become an emerging voice of the future. After it finishes its run at Stratford, Driftwood transfers to London’s Kiln Theatre from 4th June to 4th July 2026.

Three-sy Does It!

Review – Eclipse, Minerva Theatre Chichester, 9th May 2026 – Second Preview

Posted on May 15, 2026 by therealchrisparkle

Reviewing a preview is always a tricky business; one has to give a production the benefit of the doubt that it will improve over the coming days. Perhaps they will have tried something very different on a preview performance that they decide doesn’t work – that’s all part of the reasons for having previews in the first place. I’m stating this upfront, because, given this morning’s fine reviews, I can only think that Eclipse has developed substantially over the last few days.

Writer and director John Morton is best known for being the writer (and director) of those successful TV series, Twenty Twelve, W1A, and now Twenty Twenty-Six. According to the programme notes, the events of Eclipse are based on his own personal experience, but over twenty (that number again) years have elapsed since he wrote the first draft, and he finally feels it’s time to get his ideas out there.

Death. There’s no escaping it. And, if you’re lucky, you’ll have a kind and loving family by your side to help you through your final days. Despite being – along with birth – the only thing that everyone will experience in their lives, there’s still a taboo to many aspects of dealing with dying. A new play that gives us fresh insight into this vital (or rather, mortal) subject must be welcome.

However – and I must emphasise again that we saw the second preview of this production, so much can change between then and Press Night – Eclipse offers hardly any new insights. Just as when, after an eclipse passes, life reverts to normal, when someone dies, life goes on for everyone else. That seems to be the message of this play, but I hazard a guess that’s something everyone discovers as soon as someone they know dies, so, frankly, no surprise there.

To be fair, the play does show the difference between how family members cope with death and how healthcare professionals deal with it. Dr Parker, together with carers Karen and Linda, are the soul of kindness and positivity, and you’d relish having them helping you through your loved one’s last days. They’re a marked contrast to the family members who suppress their petty jealousies, unresolved issues and deep-rooted bitterness. Morton deliberately makes the nature of the relationships somewhat obscure. It was a good way into the play before I realised that Jonathan and Nell weren’t brother and sister, but ex-partners; although then I couldn’t quite work out why Nell actually was there.

It’s an elegant production, charmingly observing the classical unities of tragedy, with death happening off-stage; the ancient Greeks would have loved it. Simon Higlett has created a gorgeously intricate and realistic set; the mechanics of the Minerva mean that as you enter the auditorium you’re walking on the remarkably well realised spongy garden path that leads up to the house, so you feel closely associated with the action even before it starts.

The only detraction from the realism of the set is the lack of a front door; I can understand how one could get in the way of the performance, but it’s a true oddity in the middle of the vivid realism that otherwise confronts us – for example, you even get to smell the burnt toast. Emma Chapman’s vitally important lighting design takes us through the course of a long day; to my mind Ed Clarke’s sound design includes a little too much birdsong from the garden, perhaps over-emphasising how life goes on outside.

One can easily see that Eclipse is written by the same person as W1A; Morton is very comfortable with those half-completed, half-understood, half-meaningful sentences that have peppered conversations since time immemorial. However, that alone doesn’t give the play any va va voom. If the point of Eclipse is to show that life goes on before, during and after death, the play itself needs to have a lot more life injected into it. I know that comparisons are odious, but think of how the likes of Tom Stoppard, Joe Orton, or Alan Ayckbourn can reveal the extraordinary gallows humour that surrounds death; I’m afraid Mr Morton’s humour just nibbles at the edges of the subject.

The performances are all excellent; among the best are Sarah Parish giving us a delightfully worn-down and short-tempered Sarah, Paul Thornley as the permanently upbeat and hapless Graham, and Selina Cadell, who delivers a masterclass of underplayed comedy as carer Karen. It’s a shame that these fantastic actors don’t have something more substantial to get their teeth into. It’s all done and dusted within one hour fifty minutes including an interval; I’m always in admiration of brevity of wit in the theatre, but I can’t help but think there’s an awful lot more here that could be winkled out of the situation for both our entertainment and our enlightenment.

Three-sy Does It!

Review – Magic, Chichester Festival Theatre, 9th May 2026

Posted on May 10, 2026 by therealchrisparkle

David Haig’s new play concerns the perhaps unlikely but definitely true story of the friendship and association between the brains behind Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and showman and trickster extraordinaire, Harry Houdini. Conan Doyle wasn’t a brilliant escapologist, and Houdini couldn’t write a detective story for toffee, but they did have a shared interest in the world of Spiritualism.

Having lost his son Kingsley shortly after the end of the First World War, Conan Doyle spent the subsequent years desperately believing that he could stay in contact with him through the services of a medium – the renowned Mina Crandon. Houdini, who knew everything about creating illusion, desperately wanted to believe in Spiritualism and would have loved for seances to be true; but he was always able to disprove them. It’s the balance between Conan Doyle, the ultimate believer, and Houdini, the ultimate deceiver, that’s at the heart of the play.

There’s undoubtedly a good story to be told here, but sadly Magic isn’t it. It has a strangely empty feel, as though it knows it doesn’t have much to tell us, and to compensate, what it does tell us is delivered at a snail’s pace. The production allows itself to be sidetracked by enormous amounts of padding, varying from unnecessary musical interludes, Houdini doing a few tricks, and the slowest scene changes this side of the A27. There’s only one scene which contains any drama or tension – which is where Houdini exposes Mina Crandon (an excellently vitriolic Jade Williams) as a fraud, leaving Conan Doyle devastated as he realises he has been tricked. Whilst the characterisations are thoroughly believable, and the acting is first rate, the play and staging are so heavy going and ponderous that they drag the story down with it. And whilst Haig has a nice understanding of the warp and weft of conversation, the text feels like it would be better read than acted.

The music-hall setting unbalances the show by presenting it wholly from the perspective of Houdini’s world, with nothing at all from the Conan Doyle world; and whilst the members of the musical ensemble perform well, they simply distract from the main thrust of the play. In fact, this would be far better as a four or five-hander (the Conan Doyles, the Houdinis and Mina) in a more intimate setting and with greater intensity of dialogue.

David Haig plays Conan Doyle with Edwardian dignity and propriety, and a gentle sense of humour. He embodies respectability in contrast with Hadley Fraser’s Houdini, who accentuates the brash American-ness and essential shallowness of his profession. This difference continues with the enjoyably contrasting Claire Price as the very correct but repressed Jean Conan Doyle and Jenna Augen as the friendly and content Bess Houdini. There’s a brief scene where Bess reveals how Jean turned away from musical performance herself in order to be the literary wife, and we get a glimpse of the sacrifices Jean has made for the greater good – there’s an intriguing dynamic here which is annoyingly just left dangling.

Whilst the play does attempt to explore the lengths to which one can go to come to terms with grief and loss, it never truly fulfils its potential, and the distracting and cumbersome production doesn’t help.

Three-sy Does It!