• Advertise
  • Request Review
  • Write for Us
  • Privacy
  • Login

Theatre Bubble

The UK Theatre Network

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Reviews
  • News
  • Features
  • Spotlight
  • Opinions
  • Interviews
  • Guides
  • Tickets

Islands – Bush Theatre

February 12, 2015 by Tom Brocklehurst Leave a Comment

Review of: Islands
Price:
£15-£19.50

Reviewed by:
Rating:
2
On February 12, 2015
Last modified:February 12, 2015

Summary:

A shambolic mess of a show. Good politics, but very difficult to warm to.

More Details
Islands at the Bush Theatre. Image by Helen Murray

Islands at the Bush Theatre. Image by Helen Murray

Tax havens: they’re a subject very much on people’s minds at the moment. The government is coming under fire for not closing loopholes and big businesses are under renewed pressure to be more and more transparent.
Into this climate comes Caroline Horton’s Islands, a rollocking, shambolic party of a show, with drag, clownish fat suits and gunge. Supposedly we’re all on a (flying) private island called Haven, having a whale of a time floating 30 feet above “shit world”, lorded over by Caroline as megalomaniacal Mary.

She sucks in “ordinary people” Adam and Eve to be part of her island and, it seems, do all the work for her while she does “management by wandering about”. When they start to rebel, Eve is kicked off the island back down to shit world, and Adam is coerced into joining the party rather than face the same fate. Eve stirs up trouble back on shit world, causing Haven to indulge in some hasty PR measures to ensure the masses don’t drag them back down to earth.

The show is performed with all the characters in a mixture of drag, fat suits and heavy make-up. While this is great for the bad guys and the maniacal Mary, without any sort of human connection to Adam or Eve, the audience are left without a character to really sympathise with. Horton’s point may be that ordinary people are just as susceptible to Mary’s line in fantasies and therefore just as contemptible. However, without any real central character to the show, it feels very direction-less and sloppy throughout the first half. The second half improves slightly – there are more jokes, the corruption of Adam is quite fun to watch, and we can start to look forward to the downfall of Mary and her obnoxious cronies.

Overall though, the show is incredibly difficult to warm to. Its consistently brash tone is grating, the politics are fairly obvious as soon as we start to understand what is going on, and there simply isn’t enough comedy to make this car-crash-style show worthwhile. While there are some very striking moments throughout (the final song especially) this show is consistently difficult to enjoy.

At the Bush Theatre until 21st February

Author: London-based theatre addict. @tomlikestheatre

Filed Under: Review

Join the discussion Cancel reply

INTERVIEW / Plain Heroines talks SCRATCHES at VAULT Festival 2023

We spoke to director Gabrielle Bird from Plain Heroines about taking part in VAULT Festival 2023 with their show SCRATCHES   Tell us [Read More]

INTERVIEW / Anthony Clark on SHE

Anthony Clark is the writer of SHE, a new show interweaving the stories of 14 different women in their twenties, [Read More]

INTERVIEW / Thick ‘n’ Fast talks General Secretary at VAULT Festival

We spoke to co-writers and performers Cassie Symes and Georgina Thomas about taking part in VAULT Festival 2023 with their [Read More]

NEWS / Too Much World at Once tour announced

Set against a backdrop of the climate crisis, the debut from Papatango shortlisted writer Billie Collins is a lyrical coming [Read More]

INTERVIEW / Ian Nicholas talks The Elephant Song

Ian Nicholas is a theatre producer, running OnBook Theatre alongside director Jason Moore. He talks here about their next production, [Read More]

Top Posts & Pages

  • Hotel- a new play by Polly Stenham at The Shed, National Theatre
  • Is this the real location of Ambridge?
  • Willy Hudson on Welcome Home
  • Spotlight On: The London Clown Festival
  • London Clown Festival Coming to, well, London
  • 5 Stage Elements to Consider for a Rousing Theatrical Production
  • 10 Tips to Help You Prepare for Your Reality TV Auditions
  • The Role of Stage Manager in a Devising Company
  • Athena Stevens on seeing what you’ve turned a blind eye to
  • Thick ‘n’ Fast talks General Secretary at VAULT Festival
  • Tom Brocklehurst
    Author

  • February 12th, 2015
  • comment iconNo Comments
  • FacebookTweetLinkedInEmail

    Newsletter

    Enjoyed what you've read? Get even more great content directly to your inbox - Completely Free

    About Theatre Bubble

    Theatre Bubble is the news, review and blogging site created by Blue Pie Media and run by a dedicated team of outstanding editors and writers: we're always looking for new contributors - to find out more click here.

    Contact Us

    News: news@theatrebubble.com
    Reviews: reviews@theatrebubble.com
    Website: webmaster@theatrebubble.com

    Privacy Policy

    Copyright © 2023 · Blue Pie Media

     

    Loading Comments...
     

      Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

      Email sent!