King’s Head Theatre 10th, 11th & 13th July. Reviewed By Jessica Brady
Wet Bread is an exploration of what it means to have a cause, to follow that cause even if you’re not really sure why you believe it, is it to distract you from facing struggles and reality in your own life? Is it to make a difference? Or is it to prove a point that you have the power to change things that others can’t?
Adele [Played by Morag Sims] is an extreme left wing labour campaigner, going door to door in the lead up to the election where it is likely that there will be a Tory Majority. She is quick to criticise anyone who has different opinions to hers or of attitudes that will be the downfall of society in her mind. She is not open to failure or admittance that she alone cannot make a difference to the World and the declining of a people who are struggling whether its refugees, the homeless or being a vegan crusader! We follow Adele and the many that appear to doubt, question or simply don’t really care for her quest to success in her many causes. Her friend challenges her to give up the politics and join her in learning conversational Italian instead as it is much more useful. This rubs Adele up the wrong way and a pledge is set between the two, the friend will learn her Italian and Adele will change the World single handily in one year or give up politics for good.
What transpires is Adele’s struggle to find that one cause which makes her feel accomplished, be it taking in an alcoholic tramp into her one bed flat in an attempt to ‘save’ him, finding a man who matches her ideals completely or organising protests when she isn’t exactly sure what she is protesting for but knows that if she gets enough media attention and arrested then she is to be taken seriously almost like a martyr for good. What Adele fails to realise before it’s nearly too late is that the battles she needs to face are much closer to home when her mum gets the news that her cancer is terminal.
Morag Sims is an exceptional performer who commands the stage with strength and has such talent to play a multitude of characters and interchanges between, having conversations as two characters, sometimes three and as an audience we are invested and completely believe it. Sims is certainly one of the best actors I have witnessed at storytelling in its purest and simplest format, without an elaborate set, masses of props or costume changes even, she manages to take you on a journey of so many people which is an incredible skill. I applaud her and her director Tom Latter for bringing Tom Glover’s marvellous script to life in a wonderfully comic, clever and beautiful way! Catch Wet Bread at the King’s Head Theatre and keep an eye out for Morag Sims, she is a performer to watch out for in the future!