Rose Theatre
Playing until 12th October 2024
Photo credit: Hugo Glendinning
Review {AD-PR Gifted}
Kathy (Nell Barlow) has been a carer for nearly 12 years and to distract her patient from an imminent procedure, she starts reminiscing about her childhood and the time spent at the Hailsham boarding school. These include classes with teachers, pranks and games with her best friends Ruth (Matilda Bailes) and Tommy (Angus Imrie), only to discover that Halisham raised pupils like no other. Without spoiling the plot, the story builds on a dramatic premise, the three protagonists learn about joys and frustrations, arguing and falling in love, challenging us to query what it means to be human and where does one draw the ethical line. The play beautifully explores these difficult and fundamental questions through the evolution of the characters.
The story unfolds in a sequence of flashbacks, with past and present progressing in parallel.
While the three protagonists and their friends leave school, facing the excitement of growing up, as well as the crude reality of their destiny.
Designed by Tom Piper, the initially bare stage is transformed and becomes populated with the clamour of school children, the cosy smell of a hot chocolate, the whispers of secrets between friends, the cold of a brisk day by the British sea and the sterile light of an operating room.
The cast is remarkable. Matilda Bailes excellently portrays a multifaceted Ruth, who is irritable and manipulative, trying to stand out at all costs, but then grows to regret her actions for the pain she caused her friends and is desperate about her destiny. Angus Imrie, another outstanding performer, is fully immersed in his character and by the end of the play, they leave you with the feeling that you have actually met Tommy. Nell Barlow’s Kathy acted as a linchpin throughout the narration. The rest of the cast of six admirably lifts the load of populating the stage, impersonating multiple and diverse characters. A particular praise for Maximus Evans, who just graduated from drama school, but seemed perfectly at ease flowing through multiple roles and impersonating Kathy’s patient in the opening act with great humour.
There was a steep increase in tension after the interval, creating an impactful and deeply emotional second act. Susan Aderin's impersonation of Miss Emily, one of Halisham’s teachers, was particularly poignant, and in her speech to her ex two students, she encompasses the key dilemmas of the story. As a teacher, her goal was to offer her students a pleasant environment to grow up in, but as a person, she felt uneasy about the humanity demonstrated by these creatures she did not quite perceive as equals.
This is an exceptional, thought-provoking story led by a talented cast, offering a tear-jerking experience and deserves nothing less than indisputable standing ovations.
Creatives
Based on the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro
Play by Suzanne Heathcote
Directed by Christopher Haydon
Set and Costume by Tom Piper
Movement design by Ayse Tashkiran
Lighting design by Joshua Carr
Composed by Eamonn O'Dwyer
Sound design by Carolyn Downing
Casting Director Sam Jones CDG
Fight Director Haruka Kuroda
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