Time and Tide, Park Theatre - ★★★★ - Until February 29, 2020

Photographer: Gail Harland.

Sometimes the door to the future gets stuck and the question becomes is the past a trap or a home? Things are changing on Cromer Pier in Norfolk. The choices seem to be either adapt or move away, and in James McDermott's Time and Tide the characters are forced to face the future and themselves. May who is beautifully played by Wendy Nottingham must decide whether to sell her caff at the end of the pier and take up a new life. Nottingham subtly develops the character of a middle-aged woman who seems to have put her dreams on hold and now has another chance to change the course of her life. Her counterpart is Ken (Paul Easom) who is at ease with things as they are and regrets the changes taking place all around. Easom does a fine job of bringing to life a character that could have easily fallen into caricature. And then there's the younger generation. Nemo is hesitating about taking up his place at the university and abandoning his first love. Josh Barrow seemed to become increasingly comfortable with his character as he grows to a final decision about his future. On the other hand, Elliot Liburd seemed completely at home in the role of Daz as he moved from denial to desperation in his determination to hold onto things as they are. Finally, while the play seemed to offer a binary choice between staying in the past in Cromer or embracing the future elsewhere, we come to realise that the question may be more about being one's authentic self, regardless of time and place.

 Reviewed by J.C.

  Our Score:  ☆☆☆☆ 

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 WHEN, WHERE, GETTING THERE:
Until February 29, 2020
Mon - Sat: 7:45 pm
Thu & Sat: 3:15 pm
Park Theatre
Nearest tube: Finsbury Park
https://www.parktheatre.co.uk/whats-on/time-and-tide
Map & Location: Clifton Terrace, Finsbury Park, London N4 3JP, UK

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