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What If If Only by Churchill, , Writer - Caryl Churchill, Director - James Macdonald, Designer - , Lighting Designer - , The Royal Court Theatre, 2021, Credit: Johan Persson

REVIEW: What If If Only, Royal Court Jerwood Downstairs (2021)

Post author:Paul Taylor
Post published:4 October 2021
Post category:London but not West End Play Review
Post comments:0 Comments

Even without Andy getting up to his paradoxical tricks, quarter-hours have not latterly had a good press, vis "un mauvais quart d'heure". Lasting 17 minutes straight through, What If If Only - the latest piece by Caryl Churchill, is the polar opposite of "un mauvais quart d'heure". It packs a wealth of suggestion in its brief allotted span. And the wonder of it is that it does so with an elating lightness of touch.

LizCarr as Dr Emma Brookner and Ben Daniels as Ned Weeks (Photo: Helen Maybanks)

REVIEW: The Normal Heart, Olivier, National Theatre (2021)

Post author:Lizzie Loveridge
Post published:1 October 2021
Post category:London but not West End Play Review
Post comments:0 Comments

The play opens with a silent funereal tribute with the whole cast gathered around a flame in a brazier. As the brazier is raised to the flies, a furious party ensues with disco music. In Scene 1 in July 1981 we see Craig Donner (Elander Moore) terrified at his diagnosis. Craig Donner is barely out of his teens and he is frightened and shaking with emotion. An older man David (Richard Cant) has dark lesions on his face.

Jonathan Firth as Sir Wilfrid Robarts (Photo: Ellie Kurttz)

REVIEW: Witness for the Prosecution, County Hall (2021) extends to 26th April 2026

Post author:Brian Clover
Post published:30 September 2021
Post category:Booking Now London but not West End Play Review
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Along the way we are treated to spirited performances. The casual way Emer McDaid's Romaine Vole steals a cigarette from Sir Wilfrid tells us what a wrong'un she is and her accent is a master class in doing the quintessential European femme fatale. Joe McNamara's Leonard Vole is a man on the edge in more ways than one. Jonathan Firth's Sir Wilfrid is a master of words but it is his face that shows his torment when his courtroom victory turns out to be... anything but.