REVIEW: Backstroke, Donmar Warehouse (2025)
Maternal Agony “Poetry is list making masquerading as art.” Beth Tamsin Greig as Bo and Celia Imrie as Beth. (Photo: Johan Persson) Plays about mothers are full of tangled emotions and…
Maternal Agony “Poetry is list making masquerading as art.” Beth Tamsin Greig as Bo and Celia Imrie as Beth. (Photo: Johan Persson) Plays about mothers are full of tangled emotions and…
Superbly directed by Kath Burlinson, this is a masterclass in acting and characterisation. The play starts with the actor switching posture to play both women but varies with a recording of just the mother's voice so we can see all of the daughter's reactions to her mother's words. Later with clever editing, a split screen allows us to see and hear both mother and daughter at once.