Gunter – Royal Court

Gunter is haunting! Take a bow! Lydia Higman, Julia Grogan, and Rachel Lemon are three co-creators who prepared the show just in time for the Edinburgh Fringe 2023. They took the Fringe by storm with sold-out shows at Summerhall then. As you read this review, they continue their winning streak with sold-out shows at the Royal Court.

The play wraps fiction, myth, past, and present with haunting imagery and spine-tingling music. My favourite moment on stage is young Anne centre stage, sitting with her period pain as the ‘adults’ trip over their own assumptions of what is happening without asking her. You wonder why you have never seen this before on stage. You wonder, after all these years, why we are still fighting wars and lamenting dead children instead of researching the deep pain women carry through various stages of our lives.

The tale is old. Rich, powerful men acting at will. Powerful men holding court in judgment with the confidence of the sun rising every day. However, musician/historian Lydia frames what we see, making us pause and reflect on our perception of our ‘facts’. With clockwork precision, the team transforms the stage with lights and music. The whimsical music accompanying James 1 on the banjo is one of my favourites.

Along with the two, Joan’s effortlessly contextualising the play in the language of the present. It certainly feels like 500 years later; we have not stopped perpetuating trauma on the marginalised and the rich and powerful getting away with it. The hope remains to find the gumption and courage to call out the violence like Anne and hopefully set our own ships to sail. This is one production I would watch again in a heartbeat, and I hope they release the soulful harmonies. I’m excited to see what’s next from Dirty Hare.

Playing until 25th April, https://royalcourttheatre.com/

Reviewer: Anisha Pucadyil

Reviewed: 6th April 2024

North West End UK Rating: