THIS WEEK’S PRESS NIGHT HIGHLIGHTS
The great theatre just keeps on coming this summer, with three more exciting press nights for Scott Marshall clients last week:
Presented by National Theatre Wales, Mametz is a promenade piece which leads its audiences through rural Monmouthshire, transporting them to the French Mametz Wood and one of the bloodiest battles of the First World War. Carried by the haunting words of the poets who witnessed this conflict which killed or wounded four thousand of the 38th Welsh Division, the brilliant Michael Elwyn plays an older Llewelyn Wyn Griffith, observing his younger self on the battlefield. Mametz has received outstanding reviews for its fresh and visceral tribute, including The Telegraph’s Dominic Cavendish hailing it as, “the finest commemoration of the First World War centenary I’ve seen”.
“Michael Elwyn’s elderly, reminiscing Griffith relives, with quiet eloquence, the horror..” Kate Bassett, THE TIMES
“The superb acting of the cast… makes this the most impressive, inspiring and deeply moving live performance I have ever witnessed. If you only take in one piece of WWI drama over these four years, this is it.” Jane Oriel, THE BIG ISSUE, *****
National Theatre Wales’ Mametz will be performed at Great Llancayo Upper Wood, Usk until 5 July 2014.
Last week also saw the opening of The Colby Sisters of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at the Tricycle Theatre, starring the brilliant Ronke Adekoluejo as Heather. Following the lives of the privileged sisters and their movements in the upper echelons of Manhattan society, this is the premiere production of New York-based Canadian playwright Adam Bock’s epic family drama. It is another stand-out production at the Tricycle Theatre and one which is no doubt set for an excellent run.
“There’s nicely understated work from Ronke Adekoluejo as Gemma’s observant, unappreciated personal assistant.” Henry Hitchings, THE EVENING STANDARD
“Ronke Adekoluejo, as Gemma’s PA, does admirably” Kate Bassett, THE TIMES
“The quintet of actresses – with Ronke Adekuleujo as Heather, Gemma’s long-suffering PR – inhabit their roles with sparkling brio.” Jane Shilling, THE TELEGRAPH, ****
The Colby Sisters of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania plays at the Tricycle Theatre until 26 July.
And finally, fiery two-hander My Girl 2 opened at the Old Red Lion on Friday to a packed house. Having been rewritten by original writer Barrie Keeffe to reflect the current British socio-political landscape, My Girl 2 centres on the lives of Sam and Anita: a twenty-something couple with a screaming child, a rundown inner-city flat and a mountain of debt. Our very own Emily Plumtree, who received outstanding reviews, stars as the wife weighted down by the seemingly irrevocable changes in her marriage as well as her enormous pregnant belly.
“Plumtree, a lovely actress, never falters in mixing open-faced yearning with the grittiness of her affection and determination to see things through”, Michael Coveney, WHAT’S ON STAGE, ****
“Emily Plumtree’s performance as Anita ensures the production stays vividly three dimensional. She finds the humour, heart and tragedy in the writing – utterly convincing as a woman trying to smile through her terror of potentially losing everything.” Tom Wicker, TIME OUT, ***
My Girl 2 plays at the Old Red Lion in Islington until 12 July 2014.