Rajiv Pattani Archives - North West End UK

The Walrus Has a Right to Adventure – Liverpool Everyman

17Jun

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

The Walrus Has a Right to Adventure – Liverpool Everyman

Writer Billie Collins’ interweaving of three tales that from different parts of the world, loosely inspired by true stories seen in the news, promises much but sadly falls and I can’t help but feel that in its current guise it would be better suited for the radio. From Norway’s glittering fjords to Colorado’s stunning peaks to Halewood’s majestic Tesco, three people are getting on with their lives as we meet Oskar (Reginald Edwards), Hazel (Princess Khumalo), and Rio (Tasha Dowd): they’ve never spoken; they’ve never met; yet they share the experience of a wild animal encounter that is to prove transformative to each of them. The idea is a good one and whilst strong performances from the cast – who each feature in ensemble roles within each other’s stories – hold the attention well, t...

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...

Yellowfin – Southwark Playhouse

Yellowfin: Marek Horn’s second play and hilarious dive into the mindset of a life in a possible near future? Set in one room, we watch Calantini (Joshua James) interrogated by three senators: Marianne (Nancy Crane), Stephen (Beruce Khan) and the very sweet Roy (Nicholas Day) who reminds us all of our favourite family elder who cannot help but share their favourite memories of a time before. This play tackles a theme of which we are all apart of but also touches on something only a few may admit too: responsibility of the outcome. Calantini is questioned harshly about the death of his brother in relation to the disappearance of fish. He floats through their attacks skilfully with humour and pace, something this cast excelled at. Although this runs straight through with no interval, the a...