Tightrope Theatre’s Emile and Emily is a new play by Philippa Lawford, Mojola Akinyemi, and Nurit Chinn. Presented in three vignettes: Emile and Emily are best friends in a flatshare, flight attendants confronting gravity, and participants in a disastrous celebrity interview. This is how the synopsis reads, but the final scene is now one which focuses on grief.

The first pairing is of flatmates Emile (Isaiah St Jean) and Emily (Francesca Eldred). As an audience, we see the friendship between the two, their banter-filled exchanges progress to a more serious one of Emile calling out Emily for her privilege and her lack of awareness of this. St Jean powers his performance with palpable emotion, but there simply isn’t enough time to explore the theme and conversations initiated in this short snapshot.

The second vignette introduces us to two flight attendants, played by David Matthews and Molly Monkton. Emily is a newbie and scared of flying, she’s ditzy and hilarious. Emile on the other hand, is a more seasoned traveller having been in the career for three decades. The scene feels somewhat relatable in how most of us have probably overshared with colleagues in the past, but beyond that, I struggled to see the need or relevance of this part of the play. Unlike the first scene, this one did not bring up topics of the same weight, and although this scene added comedic value, it felt out of place tonally with the other sections.

The final part focused on Emile (Adam Mirsky) and Emily (Sarah Hazemi). Emile’s boyfriend and Emily’s brother, Louie has passed away, we meet the two as Emile comes to stay over the night with Emily. The conversation between the two is awkward, stilted, and uncomfortable. This vignette tackles grief and the complexities of faith, relationships, and family.

The main issue with this play is there is not enough time for three separate stories to be told in the hour-long run time. We just get to know two characters before the scene ends and two new ones show up, with a completely different story. Each vignette is about 20 minutes long, leaving no time for a story arc. Thus, important topics are brought up without the time for full exploration, leaving them hanging in the air, as the show meanders on aimlessly with no conclusion. I also feel the three stories should have a stronger link between them, something which connects them, and gives continuity to the overall play. If there is already a link, it wasn’t obvious. An edit of the script is required for a more interconnected piece, which contains an overall theme and message, and some more complex dialogue, as in its current form there is an air of predictability at times.

{🎟 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
  by Ellie Preston
  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
  by Tom Carrao
  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
  by Amy Rye
  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
  by George Rennie
  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
  by Jenny Skuse
  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