Florence Howard’s Agatha, at the Theatre503, is undoubtedly a play with something to say. It tells the story of Agatha and Ben from their first meeting to the end of their relationship, as they navigate Ben’s expectation of a family and Agatha’s lack of desire for one as a deal-breaker for both of them. On top of that, we see Agatha’s relationship with her own mother, Lena, who walked out on her at a young age, and her fear that her lack of maternal interest will leave her child in the same predicament as Agatha was as a child.
Howard both wrote the play and plays the title character, and her performance is undoubtedly the highlight of the evening. Writer-performers don’t always work, often being better at one medium than the other, but Howard shows the advantage of it. Her understanding of her own script and its rhythms brings a real tenderness to the role. The other great highlight of the evening is Carly Brownbridge’s set, a monochrome design with a square and round platform poorly tessellating, symbolising Aggy and Ben’s incompatibility as partners. The refusal to brand anything, to the point of using white paper to cover a pile of books in the corner, is a strong aesthetic choice, though one suspects a practical one too as the space becomes increasingly messy over the show.
That aesthetic strength, though, is part of the play’s weakness. Howard presents Agatha as an everywoman to make her argument about women’s autonomy feel like it has a universal application, but the unfortunate side-effect is that there is little to root Agatha and Ben in any sense of specific reality. As a result, it is difficult to pin down their characters; even when they ask for something to drink, it is simply ‘a glass of…’ rather than a named beverage. As a conceit, it has potential, but in practice, it strips the characters and situation of the detail that would ground them in reality.
The other great issue is that Howard’s thesis is that not wanting children is a simple enough reason to say no. She is of course right, but the presentation of this absolute thesis early on leaves us with nowhere to go for the next seventy minutes. As a result, the play does not feel like a nuanced exploration of the issue but rather a repetition of a single dogma. This is not helped by the small cast, who spend a lot of time narrating things that have previously happened. There is real potential in the story – I found myself really wanting to see the scene, narrated by Ben and Agatha, when Ben informs his mother of Agatha’s pregnancy against her consent. The story has real dramatic potential, and Howard’s dialogue is strong enough that with a bit of rejigging, we could see a really powerful piece of theatre. Right now, however, it feels a little undercooked.
Agatha is on at Theatre 503 until the 15th of July – info here!
{🎟 AD – PR invite – Tickets were gifted in exchange for an honest review}
2 Star Review 3 Star Review 4 Star Review 5 Star Review 2022 2023 Adaptation Almeida Cabaret Camden Fringe Cast Announcement Christmas Comedy Dance Drag Edinburgh Fringe Edinburgh Fringe Interviews Fringe Immersive Interviews Jukebox Musical LGBTQIA+ Lyric Hammersmith Manchester Musical New Musical News New Wimbledon Theatre North West Off West End Park Theatre Play Review Revival Richmond Theatre Round Up Royal Court Theatre Shakespeare Show Announcement Show Recommendations Soho Theatre Southwark Playhouse Touring Production VAULT Festival West End
- A CHRISTMAS CAROL – REVIEW – ALEXANDRA PALACE
Spine-tingling yet heart-warming, Mark Gatiss’s retelling of A Christmas Carol truly encapsulates the haunting atmosphere of a Victorian ghost story, balanced out with enough humour so as to capture the festive season. Led by Keith Allen as Scrooge, with Peter Forbes as Marley, this show is perfect for Christmas viewing. The set design by Paul Wills is instantly captivating, containing stacks of metal cabinets towering over the theatre, moveable by the cast to allow space for other central props like doors, beds and tables. In addition to this, the puppetry design by Matthew Forbes is incredibly clever, adding creepy elements to the show such … More A CHRISTMAS CAROL – REVIEW – ALEXANDRA PALACE - A WOMAN WALKS INTO A BANK – REVIEW – THEATRE503
The title of this winner of Theatre 503’s 2023 International Playwriting Award by Roxy Cook may seem like the set-up to a joke, but the narrative that unspools is instead an affectionate, gently barbed and at base quite sobering portrait of three ordinary souls (and one restless feline) adrift in modern Moscow. There is much affable, satirical back-and-forth commentary on the accepted myths & stereotypes of the Russian spirit & soul. Beset by the indignities of age, opportunism, graft, fatigue, the characters orbit one another, doomed to play out their roles in an unjust, predatory and saturnine universe. The play opens … More A WOMAN WALKS INTO A BANK – REVIEW – THEATRE503 - PETER PAN GOES WRONG – REVIEW – LYRIC THEATRE
Peter Pan Goes Wrong first premiered in London at the Pleasance Theatre in 2013, and earlier this year the show made its Broadway debut. Now the production is back in the West End for the Christmas season. Following on from The Play That Goes Wrong, in this production, J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan is staged by the fictitious Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society and goes awry, disastrously so. The meta-comedy is filled with slapstick comedy, sometimes the humour may be predictable and silly, but it’s universally funny throughout – there is something for everyone here, and the laughs come thick and fast … More PETER PAN GOES WRONG – REVIEW – LYRIC THEATRE - GHOST STORIES BY CANDLELIGHT – REVIEW – SAM WANAMAKER PLAYHOUSE
Drawing heavily from the classic canon of the British supernatural, High Tide’s trio of contemporary Gothic narratives uses traditional storytelling formats to address contemporary themes. Directed by Elayce Ismail, reverent musical interludes accompany tales of apparitions and nighttime conjurings that speak of women from the East of England. Unfortunately, the effect is less chilling and more lightweight, with conventional structures, predictable plot twists and an over-reliance on external forces to drive narrative shoring up some of the less relatable aspects of the genre. Nicola Werenowska’s The Beach House, perhaps the cleanest of the three tales, tells of a mother and … More GHOST STORIES BY CANDLELIGHT – REVIEW – SAM WANAMAKER PLAYHOUSE - CINDERELLA – REVIEW – LYRIC HAMMERSMITH
Drum roll please…(Cue a literal drum rolling across the stage.) The Lyric pantomime is one of traditions with the return of many well-loved jokes and skits. Costumes and sets are all made at the Lyric itself by Good Teeth, with set pieces being reused year on year. This year Cinderella gets the Hammersmith makeover, with some success. The costuming is fun and vibrant, with the ugly stepsisters’ equine pyjamas and hoop-skirted ball gowns giving all the wrong kinds of extra you need for those characters. Cinderella’s on stage dress transformation is magical and really well-timed. The Dame, Lady Jelly-Bottom’s, outfits … More CINDERELLA – REVIEW – LYRIC HAMMERSMITH