Per the final wishes of a dead mutual friend, five very different perimenopausal women come together for a camping trip in Wales.
The set design by Abi Groves goes a long way to make the play really feel like an authentic camping trip. The entire floor of the stage is covered with plant litter and woodland detritus. As the actors move around, they kick up leaves and twigs, creating realistic sound. The stage quickly becomes cluttered with tents, camping chairs, rucksacks, Ikea bags, and Tupperware, all haphazardly scattered around. The design immediately and evocatively captures the essence of a camping trip with friends.
Not everything is as effective as the set design; some issue with the script and direction hold the play back in the earlier scenes. Some characters are presented as cartoonish caricatures, while others are afforded more nuance and depth. This disparity can make it difficult to fully buy into the more sincere moments. In terms of direction specifically, much of the staging has the characters sitting low down, near or on the ground. If you’re not in the front row, you might miss some of the action.
One of the larger problems is one of structure. The early scenes of the play put a lot of effort into setting up the interpersonal conflicts between the women – especially Jules (Stacy Abalogun) and Sue (Ciara Pouncett) – which are compounded by the stress of the situation. The five women are constantly saying and doing hurtful and upsetting things, based on pre-existing resentments and new gripes with one another. What these early scenes seem to promise is a story in which the women gradually come to understand one another over the course of the entire runtime. Instead, the inter-personal conflict passes quickly. In a scene fairly early on, when three out of five of the characters unexplainedly disappear for a while, Jules and Sue have a heart-to-heart that resolves all conflict between them. From this point onwards, the women rarely argue with one another about anything significant. This unburdens the play and allows it to centre the feelgood comedy at which it excels, but it does mean the earlier scenes feel unfocused and ultimately redundant. Why spend time setting up these interpersonal conflicts, only to resolve them so soon?
Once these conflicts have been resolved, the play focuses mostly on overt comedy and feelgood fun, and it shines. Sarah Rickman’s script is mischievously witty, and Emma Gersch’s direction brings it to life with energy and chaotic precision. The fast-paced dialogue is delivered skilfully. Conversations whip around the stage between the five actors, full of tangents, interruptions, and characters talking over each other. It is never confusing or hard to follow, and is frequently laugh-out-loud funny. The cast have great chemistry, which is most notable during the scenes of joyful fun, such as when the group spontaneously break into a rendition of ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’. The comedic standouts are Scarlett Alice Johnson as the cheerful bohemian hippy Cathy, and Rendah Beshoori as the well-dressed germaphobe Jasmin who is constantly coming face-to-face with dirt and grime, but every member of the cast has their comedic moment to shine.
Although it is not as poignant as it sets out to be, once it hits its feelgood stride Kindling is very enjoyable and well worth going to see.
Kindling runs until the 15th of November at Park Theatre, with tickets available at: https://parktheatre.co.uk/
Reviewer: Charles Edward Pipe
Reviewed: 27th October 2025
North West End UK Rating: