Stage Traffic’s premiere of Sarah Rutherford’s darkly funny new play The Girl Who Fell has impressed critics for its warmth, quirkiness and offbeat sensitivity. We’ve rounded up review highlights. Time get booking!
Teenager Sam is dead. After some social media foolishness. And everyone says it’s her mum’s fault. When bereaved mother Thea sets off on a mission to find out why her daughter Sam is dead, she is joined in her journey by bickering teen twins Lenny and Billie, plus Gil — a lost-soul whose life collides with theirs in a way that can only ever get messy.
The Girl Who Fell is a poignant and darkly funny play about loss, guilt and Snapchat. The premiere production is directed by Hannah Price and stars Claire Goose as mother Thea, Rosie Day and Will Fletcher as twins Billie and Lenny and Navin Chowdhry as Gil. It’s presented by Stage Traffic Productions and Eilene Davidson.
The Girl Who Fell runs until 23 November 2019 at Trafalgar Studios 2, 14 Whitehall, London SW1A 2DY, with performances Mondays to Saturdays at 7.45pm, Thursday and Saturday matinees at 3pm. Tickets are priced £20-£35. CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE!
Show photos
Production photography by Helen Maybanks.
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Review highlights
Kari Megeed: “It only takes four actors to portray the life-altering effects of the suicide of a loved one. Sarah Rutherford manages to craft a production that tackles the aftermath of such a devastating event on friends and family with a comedic twist that somehow fits in seamlessly… In our generation of growing mental health awareness and social media pressures, The Girl Who Fell deliberates the indeterminate nature of suicide in a fascinating way.”
Vicky Richards: “This is a production where the walls come down – both literally and metaphorically…making for a warm piece of theatre brimming over with emotional honesty… With its well-woven character backstories and sincere musings on faith, family, and forgiveness, The Girl Who is Fell is a rich treat of a story with wide-ranging appeal.”
Kris Witherington: “Sarah Rutherford’s new play The Girl Who Fell tackles grief and guilt with sensitivity and humour in this darkly funny production, that mixes raw emotion with laugh out loud jokes… Claire Goose is outstanding as the struggling matriarch who is searching for answers… An enjoyable and thought-provoking experience.”
Scott Matthewman: “Rutherford’s script plays out as a macabre comedy. This is due in no small part to the pairing of Rosie Day and Will Fletcher as twins Billie and Lenny… It is Day as Billie, the precocious force of nature, who feels compulsively watchable.”
Chris Selman: “One of the quirkiest, warmest and indeed funniest plays we’ve seen in quite some time… It’s all brought to life by a talented cast… A poignant and amusing dark comedy…refreshingly original.”
Greg Stewart: “The role of social media is very cleverly and subtly integrated… A moving piece of theatre, with a kind of humour which feels entirely fitting with the situation… This play doesn’t offer up easy answers but instead asks us to question ourselves and our motivations…feels wholly modern, relevant and compelling.
London Theatre Reviews – ★★★★
Sunita Jaswal: “A poignant and darkly funny play… With the effects of social media on young people so much in the limelight, this play shines a light on how things can go so wrong and how three people closest to one girl should have seen the signs, but didn’t.”
Daniel Perks: “Despite the morbid subject matter, Sarah Rutherford’s work has a really warming feeling to it… It’s a little off-piste, slightly unhinged and unafraid to make light of the whole situation without ever seeming insensitive… The Girl Who Fell resists the need for a perfect ending and is more powerful for it.”
Love London Love Culture – ★★★★
Emma Clarendon: “Sarah Rutherford’s powerful and honest play examines grief, mental health and the influence of social media in a brilliantly sensitive way… Each of the performances have something different to offer and blend well to tell this story from all of the characters’ perspectives.”
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