To Float on the Wayward Wind

5/5 Unscorched , by 2013 Papatango New Writing Prize winner Luke Owen, blends awkwardness, uncomfortable humour, and heart-wrenching romance into a visceral snapshot into the lives of those who bring to justice perpetrators of child abuse. Georgia Lowe’s innovative design sets the action on a runway stage. Sharp geometry using boxes to form key parts of the pornography review office emphasizes the starkness of the profession. Brilliantly, the floor opens to a bed, softening the texture for the love scenes. Lighting by Joshua Carr sets off this design, fluidly changing from harshly symbolic LED lights in the office to a warmer tone in the personal spaces. Justin Audibert’s direction also takes advantage of this intimate design in the Finborough. Whether awkward, romantic, or horrifying, the tone of scenes flows fluidly as sudden revelations shift the atmosphere. Equally fluid are the scene changes, with actors never breaking character even in the low light, allowing the n...

31 October 2013 Duchess Theatre 4/5 Under Jonathan Church’s direction, Henry Goodman embodies Arturo Ui, crafting a performance of Bertolt Brecht’s allusion to the rise of Hitler with uncannily focused energy. Even if it strays from Brecht’s original intentions and only truly blossoms in the play’s final moments, the production’s genius is its subtlety as it proceeds from unsettling comedy to dark poignancy. Design by Simon Higlett and lighting by Tim Mitchell engage partially with Brecht’s philosophies, using a runway, tableaux on stage, and sparse set to remind the audience of being in a theatre performance. Sometimes this technique lacks a clear purpose but eventually draws the audience powerfully into the performance by designating swaths of seats as either Chicago or Cicero. Unfortunately, the absence of the signboards Brecht envisioned, which list the precise historical connections between the play and Nazi Germany, undermines the performance’s relatabilit...