Echo – King’s Head Theatre

I’d never been to the King’s Head Theatre before, which is criminal considering its proximity to where I’ve lived for the majority of my life. It prides itself, and rightly so, on being the longest running theatre pub in London, having been established in 1970 and recently moving to a new home, just around the corner. It’s a fantastic space with friendly, welcoming staff, and the perfect setting for an intimate and atmospheric production.

And so does Suan Eve Haar’s Echo (previously titled Saugerties and performed as a one act titled Paper Dolls) begin, with Jen and Roge celebrating their tenth anniversary in a quirky B&B. Their exchange is heated and at times somewhat confusing – emotions are constantly at 11 out of 10 and the two swing between love and hate at an alarming rate. The dialogue is odd and riddled with metaphors hinting at Jen’s struggles with infertility, which quickly come to the fore. Amara Okereke gives a strong performance as wild and unstable Jen, although she could be forgiven for struggling with the complications of a role that gives her a schizophrenic dialogue and thus little room for any real character development. Kyle Rowe as Roge enjoys a slightly more linear character arc and does a solid job of portraying a man earnestly grappling with a turbulent relationship.

Although this is very much a play of two halves, there is no interval. The runtime is advertised as one hour 20 minutes but on press night this was more like one hour 30 minutes, which to my mind is definitely the upper end of reasonable both in terms of comfort and holding the audiences’ attention. From past experience, plays with no interval are either written as such (i.e. in one act) or there’s a reason not to break the tension. In this case, there is a clear divide in the action so the lack of break feels unwarranted. There is an interval, the audience just doesn’t get to enjoy it. All of which is to say “felt like it went on a bit, could have done with a break”.

There is, though, a lot to like here. The staging is neat and thoughtfully designed, and I enjoyed the way the production plays around with imagery, which is subtle but effective. The play is thought provoking – in a short space it deals with a broad range of meaty topics which are presented in a unique way. There are funny moments and gasp-y moments, even if I found the general drama level a bit OTT. Peppered in with all the metaphors are some brilliant monologues and plenty of punchy back and forth. Overall, an enjoyable enough evening of theatre, with a great cast that is a little let down by other factors.

Playing until 17th August, https://kingsheadtheatre.com/whats-on/echo-q15t

Reviewer: Zoe Meeres

Reviewed: 23rd July 2025

North West End UK Raring: