Set in a contemporary dictatorship, the place police torture for enjoyable and determine the destiny of lives like a recreation of Russian roulette, Katurian finds herself blindfolded and brought to an interrogation room by police, to speak in regards to the quick tales she has written. These darkish and twisted tales, impressed by her personal childhood, are coming true and so they need to know why. Along with her brother being tortured within the subsequent room, will she save him over her tales, and does she even have the solutions they need?

The Pillowman is one in all 4 hundred quick tales Katurian has written (but just one, to date, has been printed). Her tales inform tales of kids who consider they’re the second coming of Jesus and have his final moments reenacted to check their principle, a inexperienced pig, coated in pink paint to make him seem like all of the others as a result of he doesn’t slot in and maybe crucial story, the autobiographical ‘The Author and the Writers Brother’. The Pillowman nevertheless is her brother Michal’s favorite. It tells the story of a legendary being, made completely out of pillows, who visits kids at night time to persuade them that they’re higher off killing themselves than occurring to dwell a torturous life and in the end committing suicide anyway. Is it higher to die and never endure? Or is life about struggling? Is that this an act of evil or one in all mercy?

Lily Allen carries the present and provides an outstanding efficiency as Katurian, by no means leaving the stage for a second. She delivers the prolonged dialogue in an attractive manner that stored the sold-out viewers captivated from the very starting to the very finish. I can’t keep in mind the final time I went to the theatre and didn’t see telephone lights popping up, or folks consuming or speaking – there was pure silence all through, which says one thing in regards to the performer’s skill to attract the viewers in. Matthew Tennyson as brother Michal is equally partaking and the pair oozed chemistry of their scene collectively. He embodies the childlike character (who has studying difficulties) in a humorous, but respectable manner.

Steve Pemberton (The League of Gents) and Paul Kaye (Dennis Pennis) play good cop/unhealthy cop Tupolski and Ariel like one thing out of an 80’s sitcom (if that sitcom had been properly after the watershed) and assist to maintain the comedy flowing and tempers raging excessive.

The set design by Anna Fleischle is PHENOMINAL (my telephone auto-corrected that to capital letters and I’m leaving it as a result of that’s completely right). The set strikes slowly backward, into the gap between scenes, permitting for a model new stage to enter from the wings like a doll’s home opening.

Regardless of its harsh language, horrific material, and brutal scenes, there’s a enormous quantity of comedy on this present. From Katurians dry and unflappable character to Michal’s infantile retorts, there may be sufficient lightness all through to counteract the darkish storyline.

The Pillowman asks the query “If a author writes tales about killing kids, after which another person begins killing kids in the identical manner, is the author accountable?” However it goes a lot deeper than that and delves into the psyche to ask “Why does somebody write these sorts of tales to start with?”.

A fascinating and thought-provoking story, with sensational performances throughout. The sort of play that leaves you asking questions and as quickly as you discover the solutions, the entire play turns into much more unbelievable.

An utter triumph throughout – I shall be seeing this manufacturing once more!

Reviewed by West Finish Wilma