Wings

Everyone walking out of the theatre was saying the same thing: “what an incredibly physical piece of theatre” or “that show must be so physically demanding for her”. It really was. I was left very impressed by Juliet Stevenson who spends so much of the play suspended by wires above the stage. You are left in awe of her stamina after an hour and half show of this nature with no interval. The show is also an insight into human recovery from illness and the trials and tribulations a person goes through in their mind as they struggle to comprehend and be comprehended.

That said, while technically very impressive there were selections which were a little slow. I found my mind wandering occasionally. It was a little too slow for my liking and I struggled to maintain my interest at times. The long pauses and very slow pace of the play I imagine are deliberate to give us a feel of the length of time it takes for recovery. There are of course long waiting periods in a person’s recovery, but personally I felt some of the delays were a little too long and the show could have been sped up or edited slightly. Whether or not this would have weakened the message I can’t be sure but I think it could have helped.

Despite the slow pace it is a very impressive performance. There are interesting AV visuals and pain inducing blinding lighting. Not having an interval definitely helps keep the flow of the story of the recovery and its setbacks, going without any interruption. A very thought-provoking piece of theatre.