More newly opened shows – good for groups!

pic: Johan Persson

BIRD GROVE**** at Hampstead Theatre, London (until 21 March) looks at the life of a young Mary Ann Evans (Elizabeth Dulau), later to become the famous writer, George Eliot. The play focuses on the conflict between Mary Ann and her father, Rupert (Owen Teale), mainly over their different views on Christianity and Mary’s refusal to accompany her father to Church. She becomes close friends with Cara Bray (Rebecca Scruggs) and her husband, Charles Bray (Tom Espiner), well-known free-thinkers. 

Dulau is excellent and captures the conflict that Mary has between pleasing the father she adores or following the unconventional life she desires. Teale plays the father who loves his daughter and wants her to marry well. He likes to conform and fit in with the society around him and fears that his daughter’s behaviour will alienate those who he admires, and prevent her having a suitable match. Director, Anna Ledwich conducts the action well and gives the minor characters plenty to exercise their acting chops.

 It’s an interesting play and another very welcome production from Hampstead Theatre.  Go see if you’re interested in literature and in particular the early life of George Eliot.

Also worth catching if you can is RAT TRAP **** at the Park Theatre. It is the first play Noël Coward wrote. Whilst it is amusing, it’s nowhere near the quality of his later plays. It looks at marriage and the difficulty between two creative people who have conflicting ambitions. They are both writers and when Keld (Ewan Millar) becomes very successful, his new wife, Sheila (Lily) finds it extremely hard to play second  fiddle.

Pic Mitzi De Margary

It’s a lively production with many amusing lines but not a Coward masterpiece.

CARLIE NEWMAN