Leave a Message, Vault Festival - ★★★★ - Until February 21, 2019


Billed as a comedy, this excellent play has many tragic overtones. Ed comes with his girlfriend to clear out his late dad's flat: poor chap, what he finds is far from wholesome as the place is filthy and littered with empty booze bottles. Written by Ed Coleman with James Mitchell, the play is a reminiscence of his own experience and he plays the protagonist. It cannot have been easy to play this autobiographical character with all its attendant memories, but the performance is terrific, and every nuance of a complex character is captured. Gabrielle Fernie as the girlfriend and Hayley-Marie Axe as the old man's “friend” add plenty of colour. The production by Jessica Rose McVay is excellent as is Sarah Mercade's set, a stage-manager's nightmare. It is horribly realistic. Midway through there is a big plot twist which leads to a rather downbeat ending, but I particularly appreciated the lack of sentimentality. I certainly found myself believing in these characters and with plenty of well placed laughs to enhance the pathos, this is one of the best new short plays I've seen in a long time.

 Reviewed by D.S.J.

 Our Score:  ☆☆☆☆ 

Want to save on tickets? See our Tips page.

 WHEN, WHERE, GETTING THERE:
February 21, 2019
7:30 pm
Brick Hall, Vault Festival
Nearest tube: Waterloo
https://vaultfestival.com
Map & Location: 443 N Woolwich Rd, London E16 2DA, UK

Most Popular

St. Martin in-the-fields: Lunchtime Concerts ★★★★ FREE

Image
Maybe the best musical value in London. The lunchtime concerts at St. Martin's are always a wonderful way to escape the hustle and bustle that is London and the sensory overload that is Trafalgar Square. This is a beautiful setting with great acoustics, and a church pew hard enough to make sure you don't nod off. Reviewed by J.C.  Our score:    ☆☆☆☆  WHEN, WHERE, GETTING THERE: Mon & Fri: 1 pm - 1:45 pm ( occasionally Tues & Thurs)  St. Martin in-the-fields, Trafalgar Square Nearest tube: Charing Cross https://www.stmartin-in-the-fields.org/whats-on
Full Details »

Get Down Tonight ★★★★ Charing Cross Theatre | Sep 19 - Nov 15, 2025

Image
Get Down Tonight sets out to capture the innocence and joy of a bygone era, and it succeeds quite wonderfully. The disco days and the story of Harry Casey of KC and the Sunshine Band come to life in this small musical which offers a shot of warm nostalgia for some and a much-needed escape for others. Like the Casey we meet onstage, this is an understated tale that does not take itself too seriously. The framing device of breaking the fourth wall to explore how the singer's life and the formation of his band might become a musical is gently ironic and sets the tone for the story of this laid-back, unpretentious protagonist who almost stumbles into self-awareness and stardom. Casey’s life, like his music, is about having fun and dealing with life's downside without overthinking it. The focus on the songwriter and his friends who form the band may have its moments of drama and sadness, but in this world friendship ultimately triumphs over adversity. With over twenty songs referen...
Full Details »

Ghost Stories ★★★ Sadler's Wells Peacock Theatre | Sep 30 - Nov 8, 2025

Image
Ghost Stories comprises three tales of supernatural encounters, framed by an academic’s sceptical perspective. Writers Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman have crafted a clever script that keeps the audience engaged and unsettled as a night watchman, a student, and a new father recount their chilling experiences. In today’s highly technical age, the production’s reliance on light and sound effects to create the moments of horror may appear somewhat simplistic. Nevertheless, these evocations of confrontations with the spirit world still elicit the intended gasps and nervous laughter. Indeed, a strong cast does an excellent job of drawing us into their unsettling realities. Jonathan Guy Lewis strikes just the right note as the slightly condescending professor who provides a rational counterpoint to the three narratives, while David Cardy is completely credible as the curmudgeonly warehouse caretaker confronted with an inexplicable phenomenon. Preston Nyman effectively captures the terror of bei...
Full Details »

Happy Ending ★★★★ Waterloo East Theatre | Sep 27 - Oct 26, 2025

Image
Ronnie Larsen has written an amusing two-hander that, along with some witty dialogue, reveals uncomfortable truths about the complex roles that prevarication and fantasy play in people’s lives. Jimmy Essex portrays Andy, a gay masseur who must navigate the advances of a straight client, Mr. Millar, played by Billy Walker. Andy doesn’t want to cross professional lines and risk his license, yet Mr. Millar possesses many of the qualities that he finds attractive. What follows is a cat-and-mouse seduction that ultimately exposes hidden aspects of both men. Larsen delivers a sharp, intimate piece that uses the physical closeness of massage as a metaphor for what becomes a deeper, soul-baring exchange. Both Essex and Walker strike the right balance of awkwardness and manipulation as they circle each other, and their discomfort and attraction are equally palpable. The play subtly offers some insight not only into the small deceptions we all employ to get through life but into the restricting ...
Full Details »

Hamlet ★★★ National Theatre | Sep 25 - Nov 22, 2025

Image
Hamlet is back! The National Theatre’s inaugural production was Shakespeare’s Hamlet , staged at the Old Vic in 1963. Peter O’Toole played the title role under the direction of Laurence Olivier. This new revival marks the company’s seventh staging of the classic, and director Robert Hastie and lead actor Hiran Abeysekera have some formidable shoes to fill. Abeysekera, known for his starring role in The Life of Pi , brings much of that same physicality to his portrayal of Hamlet. Rather than the traditional hesitant and melancholic prince, his version of the brooding Dane brims with restless energy. When he is not delivering the familiar soliloquies, he leaps about the stage in an acrobatic display that often borders on comedy and at times becomes distracting. Abeysekera's stated intention of injecting humour into the tragedy is evident and partially successful, although it is debatable whether it enriches the work. Francesca Mills offers an unconventional take on Ophelia, leaning ...
Full Details »

Every Brilliant Thing (with Lenny Henry) ★★★ @sohoplace | Aug 1 - Nov 8, 2025

Image
Every Brilliant Thing tells the story of a youngster who must come to terms with a bipolar parent who first attempts suicide when the child is seven. While the boy's father retreats from this painful and confusing situation into a world of silence and music, the child responds by starting to list all the things that are good about life. It is an amusing and touching strategy which the boy continues as he grows older. This is a story about vulnerability and coping with pain, and Lenny Henry does a splendid job of conveying the emotions of the youngster growing up in a dysfunctional home. Indeed, when he is portraying the child, adolescent, and adult affected by this situation the characterisation is completely credible. The format of this drama, however, is interactive and the audience is called upon to participate by playing various roles in the boy's story. It is an experience which brings audience members into the child's world and, for all except the most extroverted, a...
Full Details »

The Maids ★★★ Donmar Warehouse | Oct 13 - Nov 29, 2025

Image
Playwright and novelist Jean Genet was the quintessential outsider in post-war France. A criminal and a homosexual, he nonetheless attracted the admiration of luminaries such as Jean Cocteau and Jean-Paul Sartre. His daring literary experiments and provocative imagery in works like Our Lady of the Flowers fascinated both writers, while the layered symbolism of his plays, particularly The Maids , invites multiple interpretations. In this drama, the servants Claire (Lydia Wilson) and Solange (Phia Sabin) engage in ritualistic power games as they assume the identity of their mistress (Yerin Ha) in scenes that can be read on political, religious, existential, or erotic levels. In Kip Williams’ current staging of Genet’s best-known work, the director seems to adopt a role toward the play similar to that of the maids towards their employer, both reverent and mocking. The production moves between homage and parody, overflowing with theatrical excess. An initial curtain separating audience an...
Full Details »

Good Night, Oscar ★★★★ Barbican Centre | Jul 31 - Sep 21, 2025

Image
To say Oscar Levant was a complex individual is probably the ultimate understatement. Possibly best remembered for his witticisms, the tortured comic and classical pianist who once said "There's a fine line between genius and insanity. I have erased this line" was a consummate actor, musician and raconteur who suffered from mental illness and drug addiction. It was Levant's ironic self-awareness, catchy turn of phrase and brutal honesty that made him a favourite guest on the 1950s late-night American talk show hosted by Jack Paar. As outrageous and neurotic as he was talented, Levant attracted an audience to Paar's show that he was happy to garner even if his guest made the corporate bosses nervous. As Levant, Sean Hayes simply commands the stage. This is a performance that is a theatrical tour de force . Indeed, Hayes brilliantly channels the pain of the serious artist always cast as a comic sidekick - the man haunted by the ghost of George Gershwin and whose ow...
Full Details »

(the) Woman ★★ Park Theatre | Sep 24 - Oct 25, 2025

Image
The parentheses around the word “the” in the title suggest that the author, Jane Upton, is playing on the distinction between the specific and the generic. To extrapolate from the experience of one woman to the lives of all women would seem a monumental undertaking, but that appears to be the aim. However, the play turns out to be largely another story about a writer who is striving to write a play. In this case, M struggles with her desire for professional success and with the emotionally shattering challenges of motherhood. (the) Woman seems to emerge from the familiar “write what you know” dictum so often heard in creative writing classes. It recounts a personal trauma, seeks to universalise it, and employs the increasingly hackneyed device of a play that comments on the act of playwriting. This meta-trope is ubiquitous at present. Recently, it was used to nice ironic effect in the slight but upbeat musical Get Down Tonight , which we saw earlier this week. Here, however, the techn...
Full Details »

Death on the Nile ★★★ Richmond Theatre | October 7 - 11, 2025

Image
Agatha Christie is a name to conjure with. Her books have sold in the billions, making her perhaps the most widely read author on the planet. The Mousetrap remains the longest-running play in history, while Witness for the Prosecution has enjoyed a London run since 2017. Death on the Nile , one of her most popular novels, has been adapted twice for film, twice for television, and was turned into a stage play by Christie herself in 1944. Can this latest adaptation by Ken Ludwig live up to that remarkable heritage? The sets by Mike Britton cleverly evoke both a cruise ship and The British Museum, and Sarah Holland’s costumes are eye-catching and stylish. The show has a pleasing art deco feel, and despite some initial hesitancy and rather stilted performances at the beginning, the cast eventually achieves the right balance of naturalism and stylised mannerism, which allows us to believe in Christie’s world of suspects. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of Mark Hadfield’s Poirot. Wh...
Full Details »

The City Life Magazine | Reviews & Ratings