The Herd by Rory Kinnear, Bush Theatre, 21 September 2013

An engaging play at the Bush with an excellent cast, not least Kenneth Cranham and Amanda Root. This must have been Rory Kinnear’s first go as a playwright. Howard Davies directed.

We found it witty as well as moving – basically about a birthday party for a young man with severe learning difficulties.

Click here for the Bush resource on the play/production.

Below is the promotional interview vid:

It subsequently transferred to the Steppenwwolf Theatre in the States, which counts as a big win for a British playwright’s first play, I think.

Click here for links to the reviews, which were mostly, deservedly, very good ones.

Elling by Simon Bent, Bush Theatre, 4 May 2007

This was special.  We liked the sound of it.  We hadn’t heard of anyone to do with it.  As it happens, John Simm was well known, but for TV and therefore not to us.

Paul Miller has gone on to be the head honcho at the Orange Tree Theatre, where he is working wonders now (as I write in the mid teenies).

This is a great play and was a great production – click here for Bush archive.

The Stage loved it – click here.

Guardian loved it – click here.

Observer loved  it – click here.

We loved it.