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Olivier Award Wins for Sadler’s Wells Shows

Sadler’s Wells has won both dance awards at this year’s prestigious Olivier Awards, with prizes for two productions the organisation helped bring to the stage.

TRAPLORD by Ivan Michael Blackstock, produced by Sadler’s Wells, Factory International, 180 Studios and Altruviolet, won Best New Dance Production, while Dickson Mbi won Outstanding Achievement in Dance for his choreography for his solo show, Enowate.

The Olivier Awards, established in 1976, celebrate the world-class status of London theatre. The awards were presented at a ceremony held last night at the Royal Albert Hall.

Sir Alistair Spalding CBE, Sadler’s Wells Artistic Director and Chief Executive, said: “I’m thrilled that Ivan and Dickson have been recognised with these awards. It’s a testament to their enormous talent. I am very proud that we are producing and presenting Olivier Award-winning work, and that these productions were presented by Sadler’s Wells during a season that platformed the work of Black dancemakers. Congratulations to all the nominees and winners.”

TRAPLORD received its world premiere at 180 Studios in April 2022. Meditating on life, death and rebirth, TRAPLORD uses dance, theatre and spoken word to explore raw and confrontational themes of mental health and masculinity. TRAPLORD is an invitation to question the stereotyping of Black men in contemporary western society; an attempt to escape from the mental state of being condemned before having lived.

Enowate, which was presented on the Sadler’s Wells stage in October 2022, is Dickson Mbi’s solo performance inspired by a life-changing journey to his ancestral home in Cameroon. Enowate, meaning ‘truth stands’, draws on sinuous elements of hip hop and contemporary dance in combination with original music and otherworldly animated projections.

Enowate was part of Well Seasoned, conceived and curated by Jonzi D and Michelle Norton of Breakin’ Convention at Sadler’s Wells. Running throughout 2022, Well Seasoned platformed work by Black dancemakers on all Sadler’s Wells’s stages, including its Digital Stage.

Catrina Nisbett was nominated in the same category as Dickson Mbi, Outstanding Achievement in Dance, for her performance in Family Honour by Spoken Movement. Family Honour was commissioned by Sadler’s Wells and was part of Well Seasoned. Dickson Mbi, Ivan Michael Blackstock and Catrina Nisbett have previously worked with Breakin’ Convention.

Breakin’ Convention’s Artistic Director Jonzi D said: “I’m so proud of Ivan Blackstock! TRAPLORD is a stunning piece of work that deserves all the accolades. Big ups to Dickson for his remarkable solo, and Catrina’s incredible performance with Spoken Movement. Breakin’ Convention alumni keep winning!”

Meanwhile, Sadler’s Wells Ambassador Dame Arlene Phillips was recognised with a Lifetime Achievement Award for her work as a choreographer and director. Beverley Knight won the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical for her role as Emmeline Pankhurst in Sylvia, which is directed and choreographed by Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Kate Prince. Sylvia is co-produced by ZooNation: The Kate Prince Company and the Old Vic, in Association with Sadler’s Wells and runs at the Old Vic until 8 April 2023.

STANDING AT THE SKY’S EDGE,

WINNER OF ‘BEST NEW MUSICAL’

 AT THE 2023 OLIVIER AWARDS
WILL TRANSFER TO LONDON’S WEST END
FROM FEBRUARY 2024

The National Theatre and Various Productions today announce that the critically acclaimed Sheffield Theatres’ production of Standing at the Sky’s Edge will transfer to the Gillian Lynne Theatre, in London’s West End, from February 2024. The new British musical won ‘Best New Musical’ with Sheffield singer-songwriter, Richard Hawley and Tom Deering winning ‘Best Original Score and New Orchestrations’ at last night’s 2023 Olivier Awards ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall.  Dates, including assisted performances, casting and booking information to be announced. Sign up for more news and pre-sale access at SkysEdgeMusical.com.

Standing at the Sky’s Edge was originally written as a love letter to Sheffield and an ode to the iconic Park Hill Estate. Directed by Sheffield Theatres’ Artistic Director, Robert Hastie, featuring songs by Richard Hawley and with book by Chris Bush, it charts the hopes and dreams of three generations over the course of six tumultuous decades. Revealing the history of modern Britain, through the stories of this iconic housing estate, Standing at the Sky’s Edge, is a heartfelt exploration of the power of community and what it is we all call home.  

First commissioned by Sheffield Theatres and Various Productions, Standing at the Sky’s Edge had its world premiere at the Crucible Theatre in 2019.  Following a hugely successful, sold-out run, it returned to the Crucible Theatre in December 2022, selling out again, before making its London premiere in the National Theatre’s Olivier theatre in early 2023 where it continued to sell-out and receive standing ovations.    

Composer, Richard Hawley said:

“In all honesty I never really thought this story would leave the inside of our minds but to see it blossom and grow from a heartfelt set of ideas exchanged in a Sheffield pub to sell out shows at the Crucible and National theatres every single night has been a very powerful experience. The drive, focus and determination to allow the voices and history of Park Hill to be heard at last by everyone involved has been equally mind-blowing. This would’ve been more than enough for me to say the least…but the West End?…next you’ll be telling me Sheffield Wednesday are going up this season!”

Playwright, Chris Bush said:

“Making Standing at the Sky’s Edge has been the most extraordinary and rewarding experience of my professional career.  To see audiences at the National Theatre leap to their feet for these characters and these stories with the same enthusiasm as those in Sheffield has meant the world to me.  For all its hyper-specificity, the last few months have cemented for us that these themes of home, of love, of fresh starts and second chances, are utterly universal. I’m absolutely thrilled that we’ll get to introduce Park Hill to a whole new set of audiences in 2024.”

Director, Robert Hastie said:

“We’ve all been thrilled by the response to Standing at the Sky’s Edge during great runs at the Sheffield Crucible and the National Theatre.  It’s a massive achievement by everyone involved to have told this story with such passion and commitment that we’re now able to announce this transfer to the Gillian Lynne, the perfect theatre for this story’s next chapter.  I’m enormously proud and excited.”

Standing at the Sky’s Edge has also won ‘Best Musical Production’ at the UK Theatre Awards in 2019 and the 2020 South Bank Sky Arts Award for Theatre.

Hastie is joined by set and costume designer, Ben Stones; choreographer, Lynne Page; music supervisor, arranger and orchestrator, Tom Deering; lighting designer Mark Henderson; sound designer, Bobby Aitken and wigs, hair & make-up designer, Cynthia De La Rosa.

THE OLIVIER AWARD NOMINATED

SMASH HIT PRODUCTION OF 

TO RETURN TO THE WEST END

AT THE DOMINION THEATRE

FROM 15 MARCH TO 31 AUGUST 2024

STARRING

BEVERLEY KNIGHT AS DELORIS VAN CARTIER

FROM 15 MARCH TO 8 JUNE 2024

AND

ALEXANDRA BURKE AS DELORIS VAN CARTIER

FROM 10 JUNE TO 31 AUGUST 2024

The producers of the Olivier Award nominated SISTER ACT THE MUSICAL are delighted to announce that the production will return to the West End at the Dominion Theatre from Friday 15 March to Saturday 31 August 2024. The role of Deloris Van Cartier will be played by the multi-award-winning music star and Olivier Award winning performer Beverley Knight, reprising her performance following sensational acclaim during the show’s run in London during the summer of 2022, from 15 March to 8 June 2024, and by Number One best-selling artist and musical theatre star Alexandra Burke, who returns to the role having previously played Deloris in the 2016 tour, from 10 June to 31 August 2024.

Sign up at www.sisteractthemusical.co.uk/london to be the first to hear when tickets go on sale.

Beverley Knight MBE can currently be seen in her Olivier Award winning performance as ‘Emmeline Pankhurst’ in “Sylvia” at The Old Vic, and in 2022 received an Olivier nomination for her starring role as ‘Faye Treadwell’ in “The Drifter’s Girl” at The Garrick Theatre. Beverley can also be seen as a judge on ITV’s highly successful entertainment show “Starstruck” now in its second series. She is a three-time MOBO Award winner and Mercury Music Prize nominee who has sold over a million albums in the UK, including the platinum selling “Voice: The Best of Beverley Knight”. Her other West End credits include Olivier Award nominated performance as ‘Felicia Farrell’ in “Memphis The Musical”, ‘Rachel Marron’ in “The Bodyguard” and ‘Grizabella’ in “Cats” at The London Palladium. In 2021 she was also seen in Amazon’s live action movie “Cinderella” and in the Channel 4 pilot “Big Age”.

Alexandra Burke was most recently seen on stage as ‘The Narrator’ in “Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” at the London Palladium. Other theatre credits include ‘Rachel Marron’ in the hit musical “The Bodyguard” in both the West End and subsequent sell-out 2015/2016 tours. Her #1 debut single “Hallelujah” sold over one million copies in the UK in 2008, a first for a British female soloist, while her #1 and million-selling debut album “Overcome” earned three BRIT Award nominations. Her smash-hit singles over the last decade include #1 “Bad Boys”, #4 “All Night Long”, #1 “Start Without You”, #3 “Elephant” and #8 “Broken Heels”.  A firm favourite across both stage and screen, she reached the final of “Strictly Come Dancing” in 2017.  She was crowned ‘Star Baker’ on “The Great Celebrity Bake Off” and won “SAS: Who Dares Wins”. Her movie debut in the BFI/BBC film “Pretty Red Dress”, playing the role of Candice May, will be released in June following critical acclaim at London Film Festival. Further theatre credits include Svetlana in “Chess” at the London Coliseum and Roxie in “Chicago” at the West End’s Phoenix Theatre.

Based on the iconic movie, this sparkling tribute to the universal power of friendship, sisterhood and music tells the hilarious story of the disco diva whose life takes a surprising turn when she witnesses a murder. Under protective custody she is hidden in the one place she won’t be found – a convent! Disguised as a nun and under the suspicious watch of Mother Superior, Deloris helps her fellow sisters find their voices as she unexpectedly rediscovers her own. 

SISTER ACT has direction by Bill Buckhurst, choreography by Alistair David, Set and Costume Design by Morgan Large, Musical Direction by Neil MacDonald, Lighting Design by Tim Mitchell, Sound Design by Tom Marshall and Musical Supervision by Stephen Brooker. Casting is by Stuart Burt. 

SISTER ACT features original music by Tony® and 8-time Oscar® winner Alan Menken(Disney’s Aladdin, Enchanted), lyrics by Glenn Slater, book by Bill and Cheri Steinkellner with additional book material by Douglas Carter Beane. SISTER ACT is produced by Jamie Wilson, Gavin Kalin, Kevin McCollum and Curve.

West End season of
Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story on Stage
must end 29th April as leads join UK Tour
Dominion Theatre, 268-269 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 7AQ
Until Saturday 29th April 2023
UK Tour May – November 2023

Having delighted audiences this spring at the Dominion Theatre, Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story on Stage finishes its limited run on Saturday 29th April before heading out on a UK & Ireland tour, opening at the New Wimbledon Theatre on Thursday 25th May. Michael O’Reilly (West Side Story, Leicester Curve; Matthew Bourne’s Lord of the Flies, Theatre Royal Plymouth) and Kira Malou (Fame, Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre; Penny on Mars, Disney Plus) will reprise their roles as Johnny and Baby on tour, with further cast to be announced.

Producer Karl Sydow says, I am thrilled about the success of the second Dominion Theatre season and to be going out on tour for the fifth time since 2011.

Exploding with heart-pounding music, breathtaking emotion and sensationally sexy dancing, this triumphant stage production, inspired by the wildly popular film, follows the iconic story of Baby and Johnny. Featuring the hit songs ‘Hungry Eyes’, ‘Hey! Baby’, ‘Do You Love Me?’ and the heart-stopping ‘(I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life’.

Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story On Stage, written by Eleanor Bergstein, is directed by Federico Bellone (West Side Story, Milan; Sunset Boulevard, Milan) and choreographed by Austin Wilks (Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story on Stage, UK tour and Dominion Theatre).

The creative team are completed by Costume Designer Jennifer Irwin, Lighting Designer Valerio Tiberi, Sound Designer Chris Whybrow, Music Supervisor Conrad Helfrich and Supervising Musical Director Richard John.

Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story on Stage is produced by Karl Sydow in association with Lionsgate and Magic Hour Productions.

Queens Theatre, Hornchurch – until 15th April 2023

Reviewed by Bobbi Fenton

4****

Set in the 1980’s, Sucker Punch is a brilliant display of what life was like for young black men, at a time of racial inequality, accentuated by riots such as Brixton. We see Leon (Shem Hamilton) and Troy (Christian Alifoe), two friends who have grown up in a boxing club, take two completely different paths that both lead to the same concluding event. Leon is coached by Charlie (Liam Smith), who is in the habit of getting his hopes up that one of his boxers is going to win him a title, and constantly being let down. When Leon is the boxer to finally do this, we see Charlie making the financial decisions with Leons money, which eventually ends up being their downfall.

We see both boys face racist remarks and actions, particularly from boxer Tommy (John Rogers), who is one of the boxers to leave Charlie to move on to better things. As a direct result of a riot that Leon and Troy get caught up in, and react differently to, Troy decides to follow the guidance of his mother and move overseas to another boxing club, coached by the obnoxious Ray (Ray Strasser-King). We also see the development of Leons relationship with Becky (Poppy Winter), Charlie’s daughter, and in one painful scene we see how Leon is forced to make the most difficult decision of his life, because Charlie can’t stand the idea of his daughter dating someone who isn’t white.

The ending of the play is extremely poignant as we see Leon trying to come to terms with his mistake of letting Charlie handle all of his money, despite his history of not being very good with it.

Overall, it is an amazing show, and the entire cast work brilliantly with one another to deliver such a great play. With absolutely fantastic performances by Shem Hamilton as Leon, Christian Alifoe as Troy, Liam Smith as Charlie, and Poppy Winter as Becky, this show is undeniably wonderful.

The Playhouse, Leeds – 1 April 2023

Reviewed by: Sal E Marino

5*****

Reflections of an Indian Dancer was not only an insight into the personal lives and experiences of both the director, Balbir Singh and dancer Sooraj Subramaniam but it also brought to life some of the oldest dance traditions that are embedded within the dance culture of our modern world today. These two individuals have been fortunate to meet along the path of life, collaborate and share their knowledge and histories of their cultures based on ‘the collective’ and the communities that they have been a part of.

Throughout the performance we kept finding ourselves at ‘The Temple’ – a place that long ago, one would go to to find peace and solace and literally ‘find yourself’ at. In this place, you would be bathed in light, hear sounds that would attune you back into alignment and balance with the earth and all that is and a place where you could watch (and or take part in) dance performances. The dance was part of healing and a celebration of the joy of life. Everything becomes balanced in the dance; the moves to the left balanced with the moves to the right, masculine and feminine energies are in harmony. Then like petals, the body of the dancer unfolds and spins in flux. And this is what Sooraj performed for us. Watching or being part of this in a temple setting, with the light and the sounds, I can imagine could change a person in that it could help one recalibrate and feel more balanced. It was surely a wonderful experience to witness at the playhouse in Leeds.

Sooraj Subramaniam grew up in Malaysia where he trained in the classical dance styles of Bharatanatyam, Odissi and later ballet and contemporary dance and Kathak, which are all part of the performance and showcase his phenomenal talent as a dancer. Balbir Singh specialises in bringing different dance styles together to make exciting and engaging dance theatre and so it was a pleasure to see the work of these very talented individuals. Reflections of an Indian Dancer is a rich tapestry of dance that is made up of traditional and modern threads and thus creates a most beautiful piece of art, deep in wisdom, culture and precious life.

Winners announced for Olivier Awards 2023 with Mastercard 

• RSC’s My Neighbour Totoro triumphs with six awards including the Noël Coward Award for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play and the Sir Peter Hall Award for Best Director 
• Best Actress was awarded to Jodie Comer and Paul Mescal took home the Best Actor award 
• Standing At The Sky’s Edge won Mastercard Best New Musical 
• Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! Won Magic Radio Best Musical Revival 
• Other acting wins included Katie Brayben, Beverley Knight, Arthur Darvill, Will Keen, Zubin Varla and Anjana Vasan 
• Ceremony highlights to be broadcast tonight on ITV1 and ITVX at 10:15pm 

The winners have been unveiled for this year’s Olivier Awards with Mastercard, British theatre’s biggest night, which took place this evening (Sunday 2 April) at the Royal Albert Hall in London, hosted by Hannah Waddingham. 

The biggest winner of the night was the RSC’s My Neighbour Totoro, the theatre adaptation of Studio Ghibli’s 1989 coming-of-age anime film. The show won six of the nine categories it was nominated in, including the Sir Peter Hall Award for Best Director, awarded to Phelim McDermott, and the Noël Coward Award for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play. The productions other wins included Tony Gayle for d&b audiotechnik Award for Best Sound Design, Jessica Hun Hang Yun for the White Light Award for Best Lighting Design, Kimie Nakano for Best Costume Design and Tom Pye for the Blue-i Theatre Technology Award for Best Set Design. 

Three productions from The Almeida Theatre triumphed on the night. Will Keen won Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Patriots, and Tammy Faye garnered two acting awards – Katie Brayben for Best Actress in a Musical and Zubin Varla for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical.  

The final multi-winning show at the Almeida Theatre was Rebecca Frecknall’s revival of Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire. Paul Mescal won Best Actor for his portrayal of Stanley Kowalski and Best Actress in a Supporting Role was awarded to Anjana Vasan for playing Stella. The play also won the esteemed Cunard Best Revival award. 

Best Actress went to Jodie Comer, for her performance in solo drama Prima Facie, which won the coveted Delta Air Lines Best New Play award. The filmed production was seen by hundreds of thousands of people, making it the highest-grossing Event Cinema ever released in the UK and Ireland. 

This Olivier Awards was a year of firsts. The recipients of both the Best Actor and Best Actress categories, Paul and Jodie, were nominated for their West End debuts, and 16 of the 18 named winners were receiving their first ever Olivier Award. 

Mastercard Best New Musical was awarded to Standing At The Sky’s Edge. Set in a council estate in Sheffield, where it debuted in 2019, the musical transferred to the National Theatre this year. Richard Hawley & Tom Deering also took home the award for Best Original Score or New Orchestrations for this production. 

As well as performing twice in the ceremony, Beverley Knight picked up the award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical for her performance as Emmeline Pankhurst in the musical retelling of her daughter Sylvia’s lesser-known story. 

Elsewhere, Dickson Mbi won Outstanding Achievement in Dance for his choreography of Enowate, and Traplord by Ivan Michael Blackstock won Best New Dance Production. In the opera categories, Will Kentridge won the award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera, for his conception and direction of Sibyl and the TAIT Award for Best New Opera Production went to Alcina. Both productions were staged at the Royal Opera House. 

For the second year in a row, the Bush Theatre was home to the winner of Outstanding Achievement in Affiliate Theatre (representing smaller London venues). The winning show was The P Word, the tale of two very different gay Pakistani men navigating modern Britain. 

Hey Duggee The Live Theatre Show, which sees beloved animated character Duggee brought to life, won Best Family Show. 

The ceremony celebrated Sir Derek Jacobi, who was given the Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding contributions to theatre throughout his career. 

The star-studded Olivier Awards ceremony featured performances from all the Mastercard Best New Musical nominees – The Band’s Visit, Standing At The Sky’s Edge, Sylvia and Tammy Faye. There were also performances from Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! and Sister Act, both nominated for Magic Radio Best Musical Revival.  

Disney’s Newsies, whose choreographer Matt Cole won the Gillian Lynne Award for Best Theatre Choreographer, and multi-Olivier winner The Book Of Mormon (celebrating 10 years in the West End) also performed.  

The show culminated in a tribute to Special Award recipient Dame Arlene Phillips, with a performance from Grease The Musical – a production she famously choreographed.  

The Olivier Awards continues its partnership with ITV, which broadcasts the ceremony tonight at 10:15pm on ITV1 and ITVX. The full ceremony was also broadcast live from the Royal Albert Hall on Magic Radio. Outside the UK, the Olivier Awards was live on YouTube.  

OlivierAwards.com | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram 

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The Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester – until 29th April 2023

Review by Rebecca Hampson

4****

Based on the original play by the incredible Tennessee Williams, this modern take on the classic, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof wows at the Royal Exchange Theatre.

Set in the summer in Mississippi, we experience the suffocating house in which Maggie grapples with her failing marriage. I took my best friend and Tennessee Williams number one fan with me to review this play and her initial response: “I think I just watched my new favourite version of Cat” and I would have to say I agreed with her.

Ntombizodwa Ndlovu was the most incredible Maggie. From the staging, vocals and costume she accompanied everything Maggie was about and delivered every line with such conviction. As an audience member I found myself feeling such empathy for Maggie as she tries so desperately to save the relationship with her husband Brick, played by Bayo Gbadamosi.

The Greek chorus style singing of Rihanna’s ‘B***h better have my money’ was one of my favourite moments in the show and added a new and yet still relevant moment to the play.

I also enjoyed the multi role from both Danielle Henry who played Mae and Daniel Ward who played Gooper. As well as their primary roles they became Gooper and Mae’s children which I found highly amusing.

This was an incredible modern take on the much loved classic and I highly recommend for anyone who loves Tennessee Williams.

Watford Palace Theatre – until Saturday 8th April 2023

Reviewed by Julia Spargo

4****

The Lost Words and The Lost Spells by Robert MacFarlane and Jackie Morris are a lament to children’s lost connections to nature and a reaction to the subsequent removal of words for nature being removed from the Oxford Junior Dictionary.

Like the books, this new musical celebrates the natural world and is beautiful in its simplicity; a small cast, almost no costume changes and a magical set; the light of a large moon presiding over a muted stage. The instruments, played by the cast throughout, are already on set when the audience arrives and remain so, deftly incorporated into scenes; a cello becoming the trunk of an old oak.

Jay, a schoolgirl (played beautifully by Miriam Nyarko), moves to a new area and becomes so overwhelmed on her first day of a new school she forgets her own name. She finds a book of spells which takes her into a wild world where she is shown how to bin-dive by Fox (Alex Wingfield), the magic of a dandelion clock by Hare (Toby De Salis), takes part in a conker competition, refereed by Woodpecker (the mischievous Lucy Yates, whose drum solos are a highlight) and is shown the beauty of the sea by a grey seal. The set is used to great effect; grey scarves are used to create waves of the sea. A puppet of a barn owl is raised across the stage, silhouetted by the moon and creating a sense of magic.

I enjoyed the references to land access and the right to roam, when Jay is shown how to enter “forbidden” areas of nature with swagger by Hare. The highlight for me was Mary Erskine and Wil Dollard’s music. A saxophone mimics the cry of the fox and the drums represent the sounds of a woodpecker looking for food. Fox shows Jay around the bins of restaurants to a jazz number, the grey seal sings about the beauty of oceans to a sea shanty, and the commanding Jackdaw preens to a cabaret number.

Children will be spellbound by the magic of the set and the catchy tunes, and adults will be reminded of the innocence of their childhoods. All will be reminded of the beauty of the natural world, and hopefully inspired to protect it. A delight.

Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond – until 22nd April 2023

Reviewed by Bobbi Fenton

5*****

‘You Bury Me’, brilliantly written by Ahlam, has left me absolutely speechless. There is not a single combination of words that could accurately describe how fantastic this play is.

Set in Cairo, Egypt, with scenes ranging from 1997 to 2015, ‘You Bury Me’ tells the story of six individuals whose lives are intertwined. The main focus of this play is the revolution of 2011, and how this affects these six individuals and their relationships with one another and with the city. We have revolutionary blogger and journalist Osman (Tarrick Benham), his rebellious half-sister Maya (Yasemin Özdemir), her friend from high school, the permanently nervous Lina (Eleanor Nawal), Osman’s friend Rafik (Nezar Alderazi), who moves in with Osman after his parents have thrown him out after catching him with a boy, Alia (Hanna Khogali) whose father and uncles are police officers, and her boyfriend Tamer (Moe Bar-El), who is a Christian. We watch as these characters navigate life in a city that is metaphorically, and later literally, burning to the ground under the rule of a Tyrant. When blogging in support of the revolution, having the app Grindr downloaded on your phone, losing your virginity accidentally before marriage, being the one to accidentally take said virginity, or kissing another girl are all things that are potentially dangerous if witnessed by the wrong person, these characters are living in fear of going missing. Everybody should be able to relate to at least one of these experiences, whether it’s figuring out your sexuality as a teenager, sneaking around with a partner, or having and expressing strong political beliefs, and yet the circumstances make it so that these relatable experiences are also completely unique to these characters. I particularly enjoyed the ending of the play, where the audience feels a sense of impending doom that something bad is going to happen to each of the characters as they battle with trying to escape their inevitable fates.

This incredibly powerful play is spectacular, and it would be a huge mistake to miss it. It is no wonder that it won the women’s prize for playwriting in 2020.