Billed as an examination of gentrification, Kerry Jackson at the National Theatre has disappointingly little to say about this subject. Its main characters have clichéd opinions and stereotypical attributes, and De Angelis spends a lot of time getting them to tell us who they are, what they think and how they feel.
‘Too lightweight in its treatment of the issues it covers’: KERRY JACKSON – National Theatre
The National Theatre has quite mixed fortunes when it comes to new play commissions, some become and instant hit – like After Life and the storming success this year of Jack Absolute Flies Again – while others can feel significantly more under-nourished and perhaps staged a little too soon. April De Angelis’s new play Kerry Jackson falls into the latter category with a tale of a relationship across the class divide that looks to explore polarised opinions about homelessness, immigration and compassion between two people who seem, on the surface, ill-suited.
NEWS: Nkeki Obi-Melekwe & Ashley Zhangazha are the new leads in West End’s Tina The Musical
Nkeki Obi-Melekwe will play Tina Turner in the West End production of Tina – The Tina Turner Musical from 15 April 2019. Joining the company from the same date will be Ashley Zhangazha as Ike Turner. Adrienne Warren, who has played the title role in London since the show’s world premiere, will lead the Broadway production opening in autumn 2019.
HAMLET – West End
The scale of the intimate family drama that Robert Icke has fashioned from Shakespeare’s ever-present tragedy amplifies effectively, and Andrew Scott’s deeply conversational style still resonates strongly.
HERE WE GO – National Theatre
Latest short from the fab Caryl Churchill is a surprisingly intense and uncomfortable play about death, reviewed on the last night of its short season at the National’s Lyttelton Theatre.