MICK MCSHANE is roused by a band whose socialism laces every line of every song with commitment and raw passion

The Fellowship
Hampstead Theatre
1 July 2022
IT’S great to see Hampstead Theatre stepping out of its comfort zone with this unequivocal, in-depth penetration of a world where cultural origin is a daily call to arms.
The fellowship of the title is the bond between two sisters of Caribbean descent who painstakingly carve out uncharted lives in an England where being “black” not only shapes their lives but continues repeatedly to blitz them with heartbreak and trauma.
It’s also the baton-passing journey of three generations from Windrush, through the Broadwater Farm eruption, to the new, destabilising world of Brexit and Covid where the future is up for grabs, and all are at the mercy of forces greater than themselves.

MARY CONWAY is disappointed by a star-studded adaptation of Ibsen’s play that is devoid of believable humanity

MARY CONWAY applauds the revival of a tense, and extremely funny, study of men, money and playing cards

MARY CONWAY applauds the study of a dysfunctional family set in an Ireland that could be anywhere

MARY CONWAY relishes two matchless performers and a masterclass in tightly focused wordplay