The 4th Country ★★★ Park Theatre | Jan 12 - Feb 5, 2022


In his Poetics Aristotle proposed the theory of catharsis suggesting that art could serve as a means of purging emotions. In The 4th Country Kate Reid seems to explore the limits of drama in this regard. The attempt to render current events in Northern Ireland breaks down in the face of the cruelty of their reality. The horror of Bloody Sunday and the abortion laws become untranslatable into drama. The anger and division they inspire are left raw and unresolved. Art ultimately cannot convey or provide relief from the tragedy. It is a powerful statement which the talented company do a credible job of presenting, but it can seem rather unsatisfying. While the evolution of Northern Ireland is certainly a work in progress, the unresolved nature of the play, although intentional, undermines the the audience's engagement from the characters and from the subject. The ending seems abrupt and unprepared for. The cast is generally strong. Rachael Rooney and Cormac Elliott create a completely believable relationship as brother and sister Conor and Niamh. Aoife Kennan successfully individuates her two roles as Anna and Shona, and Kate Reid does a fine job as the ubiquitous Melanie. The staging of the show seemed unadapted to the venue and the cast performed the show as if they were not always aware of the audience on the sides. This challenging look at the modern history of Northern Ireland is well worth a viewing. It offers a clever presentation of emotions and situations so close and so painful they border on being unable to be incorporated into a drama.

Rated: ★★★

Reviewed by J.C.
Photo by Mark Douet.

Want to save on tickets? See our Tips page.

When, Where, Getting there:
Map & Location: Clifton Terrace, Finsbury Park, London N4 3JP, UK

Most Popular

Orlando ★★★★★ Jermyn Street Theatre | Apr 28 - May 28, 2022

Image
Admirers of Virginia Woolf will adore this adaptation of her whimsical Orlando . Woolf's romp through 500 years of history with her writer protagonist changing from male to female along the way looks at the historical construction of gender while cunningly considering its very definition. The work is also a rather playful love note to Vita Sackville-West and has a lightness of tone which is not easy to capture. However, Sarah Ruhl's reworking manages to hit just the right note. The mischievous humour and subtle sting of Woolf's original are beautifully reimagined. Similarly, director, Stella Powell-Jones, succeeds in walking the difficult line of creating empathy for characters who are by definition fanciful inventions while sustaining interest in a story that is gossamer thin. The whole cast are strong and get into the spirit of the piece with performances that have elements of mime and märchen. Taylor McClaine is an effervescent Orlando who brings a delightfully Peter Pan
Full Details »

Love Is Only Love ★★★★★ The Other Palace | Apr 29 - May 15, 2022

Image
Are the answers to love and life to be found in the film Hello Dolly ? This and other vital questions are all answered in this charming, feel-good musical about a young man growing up gay and searching for love. This is a story as simple and sweet as that of an old-style Broadway musical, and the usual conflict and trauma of the gay bildungsroman are absent. The power of Love Is Only Love comes from its humour, its resonance with many gay peoples' experience, and some superb performances. Sam, played by Sam Harrison grows up in a home that accepts his sexual orientation, but that doesn't mean that life is without anxiety or that the search for romance is free of complication. Harrison is incredibly likeable and does a terrific job of making us believe in his character. It is not easy for an adult to play a child credibly, and Harrison's dance performance as the young Sam is simply perfect. He radiates pride in his childlike attempts, and when we laugh it is never at him. S
Full Details »

Rabbit Hole ★★★★★ Union Theatre | Apr 12 - May 1, 2022

Image
David Lindsay-Abaire's Rabbit Hole won a Pulitzer Prize for its thoughtful, understated look at grief and Front Foot Theatre gives the play a first-rate production. This is a work that brings to the fore all the complexities of different forms of grieving. For some, memories are a comfort, for others they are simply haunting. Words that might bring solace can equally be painful triggers. Rabbit Hole is a beautifully nuanced piece, and both playwright and director, Lawrence Carmichael, eschew histrionics or contrived plotting to create unnecessary drama. The audience's imagination is brilliantly engaged by the unexaggerated pain of parental grief and by well-drawn characters who try to behave in a decent and well meaning manner. Neither the playwright nor the strong cast fall into the sin of caricature. Ty Glaser does an outstanding job as the impulsive, somewhat ditzy sister, Izzy, and Emma Vansittart is spot on as the sympathetic, sometimes self-absorbed mother, Nat. Max Pem
Full Details »

Alright Bitches! ★★★★ Above The Stag Theatre | May 11 - Jun 4, 2022

Image
Vacations are a chance to get away from it all and also an opportunity to let it all hang out. This is a very funny holiday story of gay men heading off to Gran Canaria for the time of their lives. There are enough bitchy remarks to put any self-respecting dog kennel to shame and more hilarious put downs than any staged wrestling match. However, the supposed escape from everyday life can also provide time for things that have been under the surface to be revealed and might force one to confront some previously ignored realities. Beneath all the double entendres, Alright Bitches! touches on some of the complex issues that affect gay people and particularly the questions of gay community. Acceptance can be a double-edged sword and the escape from the ghetto might also be a loss of a support system. Friends Max (Josiah Eloi) and Garth (Daniel Breakwell) have a friendship underpinned by complementary insecurities, while Ollie (Marcus J Foreman) and Jason (Wilson Armour) have an intergener
Full Details »

Five Characters in Search of a Good Night’s Sleep ★★★★ Southwark Playhouse | Apr 27 - May 21, 2022

Image
The title says it all. These are five monologues delivered by characters who are apparently suffering from insomnia. They are five very different people, but they all endure the same malady and in doing so they have time to recount their memories, regrets, fears and aspirations. Helen (Sally Knyvette) is a middle class woman who is self-contained and house proud; Bill (Vincenzo Nicoli) is a gentle chef with a romantic nature; Hugo (Gary Lilburn) is an Irish sculptor who as a child was abandoned by his father; Terry (Geraldine Alexander) is a woman who has lost a child and is now a caregiver for her own mother; Harvey (Andrew Hawkins) is a left-wing teacher who has been sacked from his job. All of the characters have interesting stories and all of the actors do absolutely first rate jobs at bringing them to life. Indeed, the quality of the acting is what makes this an exceptional production. However for us, the writing and construction of the work did not always rise to the high standar
Full Details »

Dreamgirls ★★★★★ New Wimbledon Theatre | May 9 - 14, 2022

Image
Dreamgirls is a piercing look at the heart of the American music industry. Behind all the glamour and amazing songs, people are exploited, the public is manipulated and dreams are destroyed. Yet, it is also a story of black and female empowerment, the development of unforgettable music, an expression of sheer energy and total joy. The American Dream of success and celebrity is simultaneously exposed and exalted. In this latest production, all the despair and exuberance are wonderfully captured by a cast led by Nicole Raquel Dennis who manages to rise to the ranks of the great artists who have previously performed the role of Effie White, while also making the part her own. Her renditions of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" and "I Am Changing" deservedly brought down the house. Paige Peddie is both hilarious and moving as Lorrell Robinson whose dream is to find love, but who, in the end, when finally exhausted by the inconstancy of Brandon Lee Sears' Jim
Full Details »

La Bohème ★★★★★ King's Head Theatre | Apr 26 - May 28, 2022

Image
Lovers of Puccini's classic opera and those unfamiliar with the work will both find lots to like in this very clever recontextualising of the story. This pared down version cuts some of the characters from the original and introduces a contemporary twist with Robin (Daniel Koek) falling in love with Mimi, also known as Lucas (Philip Lee). Both do quite splendid jobs as the doomed lovers, and we were surprised at how well the duets worked with two male voices. Koek's version of "Che gelida manina" and Lee's "Mi chiamano Mimì" were absolutely delightful. These familiar arias also worked very well in their new English translation, and we thoroughly enjoyed all of the updated libretto. As originally conceived by David Eaton and Adam Spreadbury-Maher and reworked by Philip Lee and David Eaton, there is a puckish humour in this telling of the story that perfectly offsets the tale of ill-fated passion. Matt Kellett as Marcus and Grace Nyandoro as Marissa both c
Full Details »

German Cornejo’s Wild Tango ★★★ Sadler's Wells Peacock Theatre | May 12 - 21, 2022

Image
This is a tango show plus! German Cornejo's Wild Tango has elements of break dancing and aerial work plus some terrific examples of the Argentinian national dance itself. The production also goes back to the origins of tango by presenting a lot of same sex dancing which has an authenticity and athleticism that is often quite breathtaking. German Cornejo himself with partner, Gisela Galeassi, were absolutely sublime in their sequences together and the rest of the company constantly amazed us with their nimbleness and gravity defying feats. Unfortunately, the show's costumes do not always work to display the talents and skillfulness of the dancers, with the dress decisions sometimes distracting from, rather than complementing, the performances. The use of gaucho-like trousers in one sequence simply obscures the dazzling footwork that is taking place. There is also a problem with the lighting throughout. Frequently it seems unnecessarily dark, concealing the stunning terpsichorea
Full Details »

Bonnie & Clyde ★★★★★ Arts Theatre | Apr 9 - Jul 10, 2022

Image
Bonnie & Clyde hits the West End with all guns blazing. It has a good story, a great score and superb acting. Desperation born of the Great Depression leads Bonnie Parker (Frances Mayli McCann) and Clyde Barrow (Jordan Luke Gage) into a life of crime. Disenchantment with the bankrupt American Dream plus an infatuation with celebrity cause the public to turn them into folk heroes. Faced with a dysfunctional society and a religion that celebrates passivity, the title characters decide to take control of their own lives and to become the romantic figures who inspire their own and others' imaginations. As Bonnie and Clyde, McCann and Gage both do a wonderful job of conveying the vulnerability and recklessness of youth. Their singing also does justice to the great score from Don Black and Frank Wildhorn. Songs like "Raise A Little Hell" and "Dyin' Ain't So Bad" are gong to be classics and their renditions here are simply terrific. Natalie McQueen is pitc
Full Details »

Sidney Fox's Crime ★★★ Above The Stag Theatre | Apr 20 - May 7, 2022

Image
Was it murder or was it an accident? Did Sidney Fox commit matricide or was he the victim of prejudice? Writer, Glenn Chandler, has taken the fascinating case of a gay conman and his dissolute mother and brought their complex relationship and compelling story to life. In Sidney Fox's Crime Chandler lays out the facts and even suggests another alternative version for what happened to Rosaline Fox on October 23, 1929. It is an intriguing tale and it is compellingly told. Sebastian Calver plays the charming rogue Sidney to the hilt. The codependent relationship with his mother, his unabashed involvement with a series of men, and his brazen thievery are all on display. As Sidney's mother, Amanda Bailey exposes the cloying, claustrophobic nature of Rosaline's connection with her son and how her example, no doubt, led him into the life he led. Mark Curry does a fine job as barrister, James Dale Cassels. His debriefing of his client in prison thoughtfully leads the audience into
Full Details »

The City Life Magazine | Reviews & Ratings