Leaves of Glass (Modern Plays)

Product Information

Liz, the boys’ mother ( Kacey Ainsworth) and Debbie (Katie Buchholz), Steven’s wife, have their own interpretation of events too of course. Whilst playing supporting roles they nonetheless add to the fluidity of accuracy and expectation. The absence of a father is marked but it takes some time and several accounts for the audience to surmise what has happened. The scene changes are sufficiently swift, with the set mostly consisting of benches that get shifted around – occasionally, a table will appear. The only props visible are the ones essential to advance the narrative. Otherwise, it is largely left to the dialogue to establish time and place: we know Liz’s house doesn’t have double glazing, for instance, because it is suggested she gets it installed. But that turns out to be a relatively minor concern – the show’s critical incident has already happened before the point at which the play begins, with some of the more eccentric and left-field behaviour arguably being exhibited as irrational responses to the death of their father considerably before his time. The major theme throughout the production is memory, how what we remember can differ from the truth, and how sometimes we choose to remember things differently as it’s less painful; the show begs the question – can we trust our memories? And whose narrative do we, the audience, trust?

Finsbury Park station and the surrounding area can get very busy when Arsenal play at home. These days are highlighted on the schedule. Domestic violence, strong Language, mental health issues, sudden loud noises, allusions to child abuse andreferences to suicide. Steven has always tried to be a good person. He works hard. He looks after his family.But, suddenly, everyone starts accusing him of things. His wife accuses him of being unfaithful. His mother accuses him of being coercive. And his brother, Barry, accuses him of... what exactly?As time goes on severe accusations towards Steven and dark moments from the past start to bubble to the surface; abuse, domestic abuse, extra marital affairs. Barry is also making accusations, which Stephen is keen to bury, to rewrite. The main theme in Leaves of Glass is memory, recounting stories from the past and the unreliability of any one person’s account and how these accounts can be swayed to portray them in a positive light; a key example is Liz saying she wished she had one of Barry’s paintings on her living room wall, when earlier we saw her say how horrible she thought these paintings were and why would anybody want them on their living room wall. Casting announced for the first major UK revival of Philip Ridley’s Leaves of Glass at Park Theatre in London. They're joined by a stunning Kacey Ainsworth as the fierce matriarch of the emotionally repressed clan. A headstrong mother with unhealthy methods of self-preservation, she refers to her child's bouts of violence (or alcoholism, it's unclear) as a "fluey bug thing". The same virus used to affect her husband, whom she'd banish to the shed and who would do despicable, unmentionable things to Steven in the seclusion of the place. The catalyst comes in the shape of Debbie, Steven's wife. Ridley entrusts her with relieving the tension for most of it, but hides a deeper significance in her presence. Katie Buchholz brings bona fide sit-com timing to the humorous scenes, but turns into the key to the family's emotional circumvention and inability to communicate smoothly. The play was commissioned and directed by Lisa Goldman after being greatly impressed by Ridley's previous adult stage play Mercury Fur. [2] The production was Lisa Goldman's first in her tenure as artistic director of the Soho Theatre. [3] Like Mercury Fur the play starred Ben Whishaw in its premiere production. [4] Sometimes, very rarely, you witness something that transcends words, lives in its own universe, and has no sense of comparison to anything that went before or is likely to come after. It becomes your story to try and relay because you were the one that observed it. No one else saw what you saw. It was intimately revealed to you, and to you alone. Leaves Of Glass at Hope Mill Theatre has pulled me into this mystical web of confusion, for I now have the challenge of unravelling the very real sensation that I was watching four actual people, and not four actors perform a play. Their truths, their lies, their realities, their distorted and fractured manifestations were presented with such authenticity that it became real. And I was eavesdropping on their intensely private family secrets.

Philip Ridley’s Leaves of Glass is regarded as a modern classic; the show premiered at Soho Theatre in 2007 in a critically acclaimed run which starred the now BAFTA-awarded Ben Whishaw. Now, 16 years on, Lidless Theatre brings us a new thrilling production of this four-hander. Credit: Mark Senior Cavendish, Dominic (10 May 2007). "Haunted by a painful past". The Telegraph . Retrieved 24 October 2018. The play is about two brothers, Steven and Barry. Steven is the head of a successful graffiti removal company and Barry, his younger brother, works for him as he is struggling to get income and recognition from being an artist. Our Rating LEAVES OF GLASS OS ONE OF THE MOST THOUGHT-PROVOKING AND BELIEVABLE SHOWS YOU WILL EVER SEE - TRULY OUTSTANDING!Steven (Ben Whishaw) runs a successful business in east London. He is sharp and dapper, but his cheek muscles are so tight you fear they might ping like overstretched elastic bands. You wonder how he ever managed to get his wife Debbie (Maxine Peake) pregnant, because when he holds her, he does it at a distance and pats her like a dog. He cannot meet the eye of his younger brother, Barry (Trystan Gravelle), who is falling apart, and when he visits his widowed mum Liz (Ruth Sheen), there are spectres in the room along with the cosy tinkle of tea cups.