Leicester Square Theatre 16 – 21 May. Reviewed by Claire Roderick
Words, Words, Words is a stunning piece, written and played brilliantly by Lowri Amies.
The death of her mother leaves Lowri without a script for her life. She can only express herself using lines from Shakespeare, and is unable to find her own words to express her grief.
Amies’ writing is beautifully crafted, interweaving Shakespearean speeches with her own despairing words, and finally linking the seven stages of man speech with the seven stages of grief. In some hands this could get a little pretentious, but she deftly weaves in references like Wallace and Gromit to illustrate some points, reminding the audience that this is the story of a modern life. There were lots of laughs of recognition from the audience as Amies spoke.
Amies’ exploration of grief and language is wonderful. Her face lights up as she talks about childhood memories with her beloved Grampy, and the expertly delivered lines from Macbeth, Hamlet, and many more, illustrate the torment Amies feels as she struggles to react in the way society expects. If you don’t phone your parents after seeing this, then you have a heart of stone.
Amies exudes passion and intelligence, and this deeply personal piece is well worth seeing.