Jenny Galloway Archives - North West End UK

15Apr

By Ralph JeffreysNo Comments

London

Heisenberg – Arcola Theatre

A brilliant production, Heisenberg is a reimagining of Simon Stephen’s excellent play about relationships and their inherent uncertainty. Portrayed for the first time as a relationship between two women, we follow seventy-five-year-old Alex and the much younger Georgie in a story of an unlikely relationship that all begins when Georgie unexpectedly plants a kiss on Alex’s neck in the middle of a train station. The quality of Simon Stephen’s writing is superb. His characterisation is full of knotty complexity and his dialogue is expert at pulling out all of the tensions between Alex and Georgie. For example, Stephens plays with the form of the characters’ conversations to show us who is in control, who is driving, who is comfortable, and who is not. Thus, it is Georgie who does most of t...

Ballet Shoes – National Theatre

Based on the well-loved novel by Noel Streatfeild, Ballet Shoes is the heartwarming story of three orphans who, in twists of fate, find themselves as sisters with the unlikely but chosen surname of “Fossil”. Pauline, Petrova and Posy make a vow to put their name in the history books and make a living to support their unconventional but loving family. Before we meet the Fossils, we are told of Sylvia (Pearl Mackie), who finds herself orphaned and taken to live with her only living relative, Great Uncle Matthew (Philip Labey), or more affectionately known as “GUM”. GUM is a collector of fossils and a devoted geologist, who adventures around the world looking for the next gem. The three treasures he happens to bring home are the three orphan sisters, much to the dismay of Sylvia’s Nana (Je...

Milk and Gall – Theatre 503

2016, a woman giving birth and an election. This play follows Vera, (MyAnna Buring) trying to understand being a mother in a very hopeless climate, one she certainly didn’t wish for and one she may have even decided to not have a child in- if she could start again. We are with Vera as she experiences the first year of her child’s life, a very honest and open experience of what new mothers may experience with all the sharp edges and hidden corners. The struggles matched with the consistent worry of the outside world, the wanting to do more and fighting politics with her husband’s mother. Photograph © Jane Hobson. I thought this writing was fantastic, Mathilde Dratwa led us through this year beautifully well and never fell short to surprise us. Their view on this world is abstract a...