GEOFF BOTTOMS relishes a profoundly human portrait of a family as it evolves across 55 years in Sheffield
It's good to talk
SIMON PARSONS recommends an acute exploration of the negatives of non-communication
Not Talking at the Arcola Theatre. David Horovitch (James) Laurence Walker (Mark)
[Lidia Crisafulli]
PAUL DONOVAN applauds an excellently crafted new musical that explores the life and death of Ruth Ellis
PAUL DONOVAN is tickled by the excruciating take-downs of one of the funniest, wittiest, political writers around.
RON JACOBS points out, via a transcription of Kissinger’s secret recordings, that Trump could never have existed without Nixon and Kissinger
ELLIS RAE is persuaded that the advantages of the ‘talking cure’ are superior to the treatment of mental illness with drugs
JOHN GREEN, MICHAL BONCZA and BELLA KATZ review The Good Boy, Broken English, and Don't Be Prey
Not Talking
Arcola Theatre, London
PREVIOUSLY performed as a radio drama, Mike Bartlett's first play for the stage is a portent of the playwright's notable career.
Director James Hillier has his cast of four, ageing married couple James and Lucy and young squaddies Mark and Amanda, interweave their interlocking monologues on a stripped-down thrust stage.
They are linked by their inability to talk to one another about life-shaping events — incidents and decisions that potentially could bond the couples trigger breakdown they are unable to share.
Similar stories
SIMON PARSONS applauds an artist who rescues and rehumanises stories of women, the victims of violence, from a feminist perspective
GORDON PARSONS is blown away by a superb production of Rostand’s comedy of verbal panache and swordmanship
SIMON PARSONS is beguiled by a dream-like exploration of the memories of a childhood in Hong Kong
SIMON DUFF recommends a new album from renowned composer and oud player Anour Brahem.