SIMON PARSONS is discomfited by an unflichingly negative portrait of motherhood and its trials
The after effects of rape
SIMON PARSONS salutes drama that registers how the impact of the sexual assault ripples out through every element of a family’s existence
PAUL FOLEY recommends an extraordinary double bill that packs a punch and leaves you reeling
MARY CONWAY is disappointed by a play about AI that results in a deadening disconnect for its audience
SIMON PARSONS applauds an insightful state-of-the-nation play that explores the growing class divide in South Africa
MATTHEW HAWKINS pays tribute to the performance artist and costumier, Leigh Bowery
SIMON DUFF reviews a new composition by German composer and pianist Florian Weber that blurs the line between where improvisation ends and composition begins
New releases from The Jim Mullen Quartet, Caroline Kraabel/John Edwards, and Matthew Muneses/Riza Printup
When It Happens To You
Park Theatre, London
AMERICAN author Tawni O’Dell’s deeply personal memoir about the rape of her grown-up daughter Esme and the shattering after-effects on both her and her children must have been an important cathartic exercise when first performed in New York, with O’Dell playing herself, but risks being too intimate and personalised to fully work on stage.
With Amanda Abbington at the heart of the European Premiere taking Tawni’s role as Tara, Esme’s divorced mother, the play’s simple narrative style becomes more than just a dramatic reading as the enduring impact of the sexual assault ripples out through every element of the family’s existence.
More from this author
SIMON PARSONS is discomfited by an unflichingly negative portrait of motherhood and its trials
SIMON PARSONS applauds an insightful state-of-the-nation play that explores the growing class divide in South Africa
SIMON PARSONS applauds a tense and thoughtful production that regularly challenges our political engagement and prejudices
SIMON PARSONS questions whether a dark take on Shakespeare’s Seasonal comedy is in harmony with the original text
Similar stories
SIMON PARSONS applauds a moving version of Ishiguro’s vision of a world in which science and ethics have diverged
GORDON PARSONS relishes a fast moving production of Sheridan’s comic masterpiece
SIMON PARSONS recommends a musical retelling of the Old Testament story of the sexual awakening of a young childless bride
SIMON PARSONS relishes the revival of a highly original play that explores the reinvention of a family that rejects traditional gender roles