GONE TOO FAR! - REVIEW - THEATRE ROYAL STRATFORD EAST

Gone Too Far! is a funny, moving and utterly relevant play about identity, culture, and what it is to know yourself.

Gone Too Far! is the story of two brothers brought up apart – one in Nigeria, one in Peckham – brought back together and navigating their relationship, their culture, and their identity against the backdrop of Peckham streets.

A gritty, busy, urban set is built up around the stage. The set mirrors the boys’ relationship – scaffolding which is essentially split in two, the actors moving into and out of each other’s space across this divide. The scaffolding becomes streets, cafes, and houses across Peckham with smooth transitions throughout, keeping up the pace of the play whilst changing location regularly. There is a strong use of smoke to create a haze which was almost too much at times.

An interval has been clearly added to the piece and is a little clunky in its execution. I would have preferred a 90 minute straight run, but this can be uncomfortable for some audience members. I did enjoy Baxter the Busker during the interval entertaining us on stage side in ‘Peckham’ and accepting a range of requests which may or may not sound like the actual song.

During the interval, groups of young people around me were all buzzing with opinions on characters and predictions of what would come next. The theatre was alive with discussion of the play, which was really lovely to hear, particularly as a drama teacher and with this being a GCSE text.

The script is achingly funny and touching with hard-hitting fast dialogue as two brothers try to understand each other through a backdrop of disunity, racism and culture. The brothers’ relationship, played by Dalumuzi Moyo and Jerome Scott, is utterly convincing. Moyo is utterly charming, and Scott portrays a young man struggling with his identity impeccably. Another standout is Keziah Campbell-Golding as Armani, a character you grow to hate over the course of the play. Her performance was so strong the audience’s reaction was viceral.

A must see for young theatre goers, I hope Gone Too Far! comes back soon for a longer run.

{🎟 AD – PR invite – Tickets were gifted in exchange for an honest review}

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