Of Kith And Kin by Chris Thompson, Bush Theatre, 28 October 2017

Another night at the theatre, another enjoyable evening despite a rather messy play.

We enjoyed Of Kith And Kin, especially once the narrative got past the rather sitcom meets soap opera first act. There were interesting issues and a nice mixture of comedy, tension and tragedy.

But my goodness did we have to suspend belief a lot at times. No amount of desperation, deep-seated psychological damage and troubled back story would, in my view, lead a solicitor to behave as Daniel behaves at times in the second and third acts.

The acting felt a bit patchy too. All three female parts were very well-expressed but the central (male) couple felt a bit weak at times. Perhaps it was the play. Perhaps it was the way the play was directed.

The Bush has published a trailer on YouTube:

The Bush anchor and details can be found by clicking here.

I’ll guess the play will get/is getting mixed reviews – this search term should find whatever is out there whenever you come to look.

Still, we had a good evening.

We met again the nice young chap who sat next to us and chatted with us at The Gate the other week, serving behind the bar at The Bush.

We tried a very tasty Thai takeaway from the Sisters Cafe in Pitshanger Lane after the show.

The Westbridge by Rachel De-lahay, Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, 26 November 2011

We thought very highly of this play and of this production.

Here is a link to the Royal Court resource on this play/production.

As soon as we entered the Royal Court Upstairs, we felt a bit un-nerved by the arrangement – we seemed to be sitting higgledly-piggledly on top of the action.

This production had started its life in a Peckham outreach location – a former cricket bat factory it transpired, which probably explains the unusual layout of the room.  The working title of the play had been SW11, so I think  Rachel De-lahay originally had a Battersea Estate in mind rather than a Peckham one – little matter.

The action was full of ethnic and inter-generational tensions. Very well written – where is Rachel De-lahay now (he asks, writing in 2018)?

Here is a link to a search term for the (mostly excellent) reviews.

Here’s the trailer…or rather playwright/director interviews…for the production, which was shot at that Peckham site: