The Welkin, National Theatre - ★★★★ - Until May 23, 2020


The year is 1759 and in the welkin (or sky above) Halley's comet is approaching. From earth below it's presence will be an omen for the superstitious and a phenomenon for the scientific. This is a period at the cusp of change. Reason is challenging religion while traditional male and female roles are being questioned. In this setting a horrific murder takes place and a jury of matrons is called to determine if one of the accused is pregnant and thus exempt from execution. The women's approaches reflect the clash between the traditional worldview and the emerging new reality. It is a very interesting premise, and while Lucy Kirkwood's play approaches these issues with considerable humour and drama, the final work seemed rather uneven. The first act was a jury room drama reminiscent of Twelve Angry Men while the second act with its surprise revelations, plot twists and horror had an almost Gothic quality. Maxine Peake did a fine job as Elizabeth Luke, the rationalist new woman, and Ria Zmitrowicz was strong as the accused murderer who is torn between the reality of her assigned lot in life and the aspiration for more. Indeed, all of the actors did an amazing job of establishing their individual identities in a large cast of characters. As always at the National Theatre, the production was first rate. This is a long evening in the theatre but it offers an interesting look at how one world gradually and painfully gives birth to another.

 Reviewed by J.C.
Photo by Brinkhoff-Moegenburg.
 Our Score:  ☆☆☆☆ 

 Want to save on tickets? See our Tips page.

 WHEN, WHERE, GETTING THERE:
Until May 23, 2020
Various show times available. See website below.
National Theatre
Nearest tube: Waterloo
https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/shows/the-welkin
Map & Location: Upper Ground, South Bank, London SE1 9PX, 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 »

Intimate Apparel ★★★★★ Donmar Warehouse | Jun 20 - Aug 9, 2025

Image
Lynn Nottage's play follows the fortunes of a young black seamstress in 1905 New York. Esther makes undergarments for the wealthy, and the central metaphor of the play is that just as her corsets control and distort women's figures to meet the dictates of fashion, all of the characters in the story find their lives defined and limited by race, gender, class and religion. From the wealthy Mrs Van Buren who must play her part in society while privately enduring a loveless marriage, to the cloth merchant, Mr Marks, whose religion does not allow him to be touched by a woman who is not in his family and which would never sanction a relationship with a black woman, everyone in Esther's world is trapped. However, it is through love and marriage that Esther hopes she will find freedom and escape from the restrictions of her situation. Although Esther's friends, the landlady Mrs Dickson and the prostitute, Mayme, counsel a life based on compromise, Esther hopes that her romantic...
Full Details »

Stereophonic ★★★★ Duke of York's Theatre | May 24 - Oct 11, 2025

Image
The show that was nominated for more Tony awards than any other has now arrived in London! Nominated for thirteen awards and winning five, this musical set in 1976-1977, is a deep look at a rock band's creation of their latest album. It is a fascinating insight into the music industry and into the collaborative creative process. Five members of a band, plus two engineers, struggle to produce a new album, and as they do so, the individual personalities and relationships that exist disintegrate and are reconstructed. In fact, the process of artistic invention, and re-invention, that results in the album mirrors what the band members themselves go through. This unnamed British-American rock band is composed of the driven, perfectionist Peter, his insecure vocalist, songwriter partner, Diana, the drug-addled bass player, Reg, his long-suffering spouse the keyboardist, Holly, and the apparent adult in the room, the band's drummer, Simon. This quintet is supported by two goofy, but o...
Full Details »

King of Pangea ★★ King's Head Theatre | Jun 7 - Jul 6, 2025

Image
When Sam Crow's mother is ill, she is constantly positive. She is always looking forward to things being better. It is an optimism that the young Sam adopts, but when his mother dies, it leaves him uncertain about how to adjust to that situation. Then, he remembers the tale his mother used to tell him about the island of Pangea, a wonderful mythical place; he thinks about that land and wonders if the means of sorting out his complex emotions about her loss might be found there. King of Pangea is a slight fable about loss and reconciliation to the reality of death, but it never really works. The rather forced metaphor about finding the final piece of the puzzle and the journey to the fabled land all fall rather flat. A major issue is that this doesn't seem like a fully thought-out fantasy place, and the whole sequence about the magic coins fails to resonate. Luring an audience into an imaginative construct is never an easy task, and in this case, Pangea simply doesn't engag...
Full Details »

The Ministry of Lesbian Affairs ★★★ Kiln Theatre | Jun 13 - Jul 12, 2025

Image
Iman Qureshi's delightful tale of a group of six women who come together to form a choir has much to recommend it. It is full of humour, and its political heart is in the right place. The characters are nicely drawn, and it is easy to identify both with them and with their plights: Lori's issue is that she is not out to her church-going family; Ana is determined to be politically correct at all costs, but she is also consumed by jealousy and fearful that Lori might leave her; Dina is from an Arab culture which wouldn't accept her orientation and she has an emotionally abusive husband; Fi is a wheelchair user who is going through a divorce and who has some questionable views about who should actually be part of the sisterhood; Bridget is a trans woman looking for love and acceptance; and, Ellie is a promiscuous non-binary individual who is exploring their identity. This group of songsters is presided over by Connie, the OWL (Old Wise Lesbian) who proves to be the work's ...
Full Details »

Edward Burra - Ithell Colquhoun ★★★★ Tate Britain | Jun 13 - Oct 19, 2025

Image
Both these exhibitions provide fascinating retrospectives on the work of two roughly contemporary artists who have often been under-appreciated. Edward Burra was born in 1905 and died in 1976, while Ithell Colquhoun was born in 1906 and died in 1988. Both were influenced by the surrealist movement, but while Colquhoun's work is replete with symbolism reflecting her occult and spiritual interests, Burra's oeuvre is more grounded in time and place. From his early works which were depictions of the life of the demimonde in the cafés and cabarets of France, through his celebration of America's Harlem Renaissance, to the artist's final works which suggest his despair regarding the industrial despoilment of the English countryside, there is a detached, sardonic side to Burra's work that stands in contrast to Colquhoun's spiritual earnestness. Although the Spanish Civil War and World War II profoundly affected Burra and his output, bringing a dark, almost cynical, tone...
Full Details »

Showmanism ★★★ Hampstead Theatre | Jun 18 - Jul 12, 2025

Image
It's summertime and the season of fringe theatre is upon us. One-person shows, performers with niche talents and curious experimentation are among the hallmarks of this annual experience, and Showmanism certainly meets the above criteria. Created by and starring Dickie Beau whose gift is a formidable ability to lip-sync and some skill at mime, this production is a collage of various interesting commentaries about the theatre and theatrical production. The various snippets are neatly patched together, but their relevance to each other is left for the audience to determine. They run from the challenging and academic to the silly and anecdotal, and they certainly provide a quirky pastiche of commentary about the art of performance. From the acoustics of the Ancient Greek amphitheatres, to feminist questions about drag, to a reminiscence about a visit to Oberammergau, there are lots of interesting insights here, and an enormous amount of material is covered. To the proceedings, Dickie...
Full Details »

Evita ★★★★ The London Palladium | Until September 6, 2025

Image
If you have seen previous productions of Evita , or even the film, you will first need to put aside any preconceptions arising from those experiences. Jamie Lloyd's reimagining of Andrew Lloyd Webber's classic will probably enrage some as much as it will delight others. There is no attempt to realistically present events here, and not much effort to tell the story of Eva Perón. This is a raucous, raunchy, concert version of the rags to riches story of Argentina's most famous First Lady. What was previously an operatic telling of her tale and a complex study of political compromise and the corruption of power is now a theatrical experience. In this production, every number is sung at a volume of plus ten, and the energetic choreography is dialled up to the max, overwhelming any story or character development. In fact, the characters barely interact. They all play to the audience often with microphones in their hands. The set is a bare-bones affair, matching the costumes whic...
Full Details »

Summer Exhibition 2025 ★★★★ Royal Academy of Arts | Jun 17 - Aug 17, 2025

Image
The first summer exhibition at the Royal Academy was in 1769. For 257 years this annual show has been delighting, disconcerting and defying art lovers. The theme of this year's exhibition is "Dialogues," and it continues in the show's time-honoured tradition. There is something here for everyone, and probably the odd thing for no one. The Co-ordinator for this year's exhibition, Farshid Moussavi and her team have assembled an extraordinarily eclectic group of works and have done a superb job of reflecting the exhibition's theme. For the first time architectural works have been spread throughout the various galleries and that integration sets up a conversation with the other pieces that is quite fascinating. The dialogue is present in many forms, however: from the whimsical such as Adam Dant's Capital City - A Cat-ographic View of London (992) and Chris Orr's The Old Mill by the Stream (1008) to the confounding like John Humphreys' Lulu in the Sky...
Full Details »

The White Chip ★★★ Southwark Playhouse, Borough | Jul 9 - Aug 16, 2025

Image
Sean Daniels' autobiographical piece recounts the heartfelt journey of Steven, tracing his steps from alcoholism to sobriety. Coming from a dysfunctional Mormon home, Daniels' protagonist at a very early age begins to use alcohol to deal with his issues. Nevertheless, by employing the same engaging charm and humour which marks this recounting of his story, Steven manages to achieve social success and to pursue a high-achieving career even as his life is falling apart. Despite an unplanned marriage, a serious traffic accident and various other crises, it is only when Steven finds himself on the side of the road contemplating suicide that he honestly comes to terms with his plight. For us, the character of Steven and Daniels' unflinching portrait of his dilemma recalled F. Scott Fitzgerald's picture of the disintegration of a drunken Dick Diver in Tender is the Night . In both cases, it is the ability of the characters to use their charm, or humour, which allows them to n...
Full Details »

The City Life Magazine | Reviews & Ratings