• 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

Angry at the Southwark Playhouse

February 17, 2018 by Maggie Kelly Leave a Comment

Review of: Angry

Reviewed by: Maggie Kelly
Rating:
3
On February 17, 2018
Last modified:February 17, 2018

Summary:

Confusing blend of monologues just about saved by a striking design and spectacular acting.

More Details

Ridley’s gained notoriety for producing plays that are uncompromising in their brutality and brazen in their emotion. Angry, though, feels slightly confused as to what it wants to be and exactly what sort of point it wants to make – a collection of six very different monologues of varying quality packaged up and thrust unceremoniously in our faces.

Tyrone Huntley and Georgie Henley try their hardest with some very difficult writing; Henley in particular is a tour-de-force, dragging humanity out of stilted situations with a wit and an intelligence that stays visible throughout. Her American housewife promising to banish the words ‘hesitate’ and ‘ponder’ from her vocabulary makes what could be a self-obsessively ‘clever’ monologue (Okay) just about accessible and understandable for a rather bemused audience, before trying her hardest to push the ridiculously underdeveloped Dancing towards a satisfying conclusion. The fact that there are severed heads on the dancefloor, and that this is not an unusual occurrence is a wonderful start to a monologue, but it fizzles out with a sad whimper despite Henley’s masterful comedic timing and judgement.

Huntley also grapples with speeches that push him towards the infuriatingly one-note; screaming at the audience about Bambi for ten minutes with no sense of character development is tricky at the best of times, and Now is just plain confusing; rocketing from an exploded building to an interrogation cell to a spaceship to a black hole in a piece that feels like a postmodern experiment in need of a couple of redrafts. However, the longer Bloodshot is where Huntley’s true talents are released – weaving a tale of a forbidden sexual experience surrounded by a brass band and ducks, Huntley meanders along the diversions of the tale with a gentle arrogance that is thrilling to watch.

And then. And then we hit Air and finally, finally Ridley shows his true colours and we glimpse a spark of method underneath the madness (only a spark). Henley is mouth-gapingly spectacular in this heart-breaking tale of love among dusty hardbacks, ending up her caught underwater in a sinking ship, flashing back to memories of lighter times and counting down to her last breath. It’s a crushing juxtaposition of the mundanity of youth, rose-tinted childhood memories against the irreconcilable confusion of war, with the dust and stenches of death.

Despite the dystopic gloriousness of Air, one wonders what the point of the individual six plays were. The vast majority felt like experiments rather than a unified piece of work, and it seems very bizarre putting the most hard-hitting story right at the end – I walked out of the theatre with the preceding five almost completely forgotten. The set is beautiful, both actors penned in by bars of light, costume design and direction clever, but a unifying factor is missing. One also wonders why Ridley felt the need to swap the monologues around every night – none of the pieces are really that concerned with gender, and it reeks of a gimmick. Some beautiful turns of phrase and explosive acting from both rising stars, but ultimately Angry fails to hit the mark.

 

Author: Maggie Kelly

Filed Under: Featured, Review Tagged With: Georgie Henley, Philip Ridley, Southwark Playhouse, Tyrone Huntley

Join the discussion Cancel reply

INTERVIEW / Richard Vergette on Leaving Vietnam

We spoke to Richard Vergette, writer and performer of Leaving Vietnam. Richard plays a war veteran who feels ignored and [Read More]

Review / The Journey To Venice at the Finborough Theatre

Bjorg Vik’s play The Journey To Venice is a delightful production, entertaining yet full of pathos. A play with a [Read More]

INTERVIEW / Tzarini Meyler talks KITES at VAULT Festival

We spoke to Artistic Director of LipZinc Theatre, writer and performer Tzarini Meyler about her upcoming show at VAULT Festival [Read More]

INTERVIEW / Naomi Westerman talks BATMAN (aka Naomi’s Death Show)

We spoke to writer and performer Naomi Westerman from Little But Fierce about her upcoming show at VAULT Festival Can [Read More]

INTERVIEW / Angharad Jones on The Swearing Jar 

From New Perspectives, The Swearing Jar is a comedy about love, heartbreak, living with the past and accepting the future. We spoke to director Angharad [Read More]

Top Posts & Pages

  • Tim Edge talks Under the Black Rock
  • 5 Stage Elements to Consider for a Rousing Theatrical Production
  • Writing the Perfect Press Release
  • The Donmar Warehouse's Julius Caesar at the King's Cross Theatre
  • Is this the real location of Ambridge?
  • The Further Adventures of the Owl and the Pussycat
  • Art of Believing at The Space
  • The Bacchae - National Student Drama Festival 2015
  • A Midsummer Night's Dream at Brasenose College, Oxford
  • Abel Law on becoming a musical theatre student during COVID
  • Maggie Kelly
    Author

  • February 17th, 2018
  • comment iconNo Comments
  • Facebook1TweetLinkedInEmail

    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!