Behind The Eye Theatre revive an early work by playwright and 'Jane Eyre'/'Tamara Drew' screenwriter Moira Buffini. Written at the birth of Blair's Britain, it's a play about how big ideas aren't always all they're built up to be, as patriarch Hector Blavatsky locks himself away at the top of a tower he has designed and built.
This is a truly exceptional production. Buffini’s story in Blavatsky’s Tower of a weird family living an alternate reality at the top of a decaying 25 story tower block, cut off from the rest of humanity below who they describe as the “crushed”, becomes completely believable under direction of Will Maynard and the play’s outstanding cast. The intimate layout of the Baron’s Court Theatre, with its three sided stage, the Will Maynard’s careful attention to the story’s subtle nuances and tensions coupled with each highly capable actors’ totally convincing portrayal in their part, enabled the audience to become almost horrified participants in the innermost lives, emotions and actions of the family as their isolated existence is destroyed by the intrusion by an “outsider”. The production at Baron's Court Theatre is a gripping, funny and highly entertaining “black” comedy that deserves a wide audience and should not be missed.
Peter Wood
Thu May 9
Rated as: 5/5
This is a superb production -- in which the claustrophobic goings-on in the penthouse atop the eponymous monolith are ideally suited to the psychological intensity of the Baron's Court venue. The cast succeed in bringing the folie-a-quatre that is the Blavatsky family all-too-believably to life, giving the APA manual a thorough workout in the process. If you are visiting London and want to have an authentic theatrical experience, this will be very hard to beat, and I can promise you it will live long in the memory for all the right reasons.
Timeout London
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