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I Miss The Mountains: Fly More Than You Fall @Swkplay

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Losing a parent when you’re still figuring out who you are and your place in the world seems like a bummer of a topic for a musical. But somehow, Fly More Than You Fall tackles grief and loss with a light touch, catchy music and enthusiastic performances. While it may not offer great insight into the exploration of grief, it gives pause for thought and a few laughs on the way. After all, death doesn’t take a holiday, and nobody gets out of here alive. We just hope it doesn’t happen too soon. It’s currently playing at Southwark Playhouse Elephant .  We first meet Malia as she prepares for summer writers' school. She aspires to be a writer and has a story in development. Encouraged by her mother to keep going, she is looking forward to the summer. But the summer school is cut short when her mother is diagnosed with stage four cancer. Back home so her mother can spend her last days with her family, Malia has to grow up quickly and find her voice while watching her mother slip away.  T

Long term relationships: Chutney @BunkerTheatreUK

The central message from Chutney, is that anyone you date at University is not worth staying in a long term relationship with. You get bored with your smug post-university life and soon you’ll be wanting to murder the neighbour’s cat. Or their parrot. Or a few hedgehogs. It’s currently playing at The Bunker.

We’re introduced to Claire (Isabel Della-Porta) and Gregg (Will Adolphy) after something terrible has happened. They’ve just been dog-sitting for some friends and then a fox came and ripped the dogs head off. Or was it a homeless man. Or did they do it?

There’s a middle class kitchen complete with John Lewis kitchen appliances. It sets the scene where boredom meets murderous thoughts and actions. It’s American Psycho meets Croydon Cat Killer. Without the moral panic.

There’s plenty of gross, stomach churning dialogue. But playwright Reece Connolly has some sharp observations about the lives of millennials. Not old enough to have positions of power. Not young enough to have carefree University existences. They are charting the world of binge-watching Netflix and dreaming of exotic escapes that they can’t afford. It’s enough to bring out more primal, animal instincts.

Adolphy and Della-Porta are remarkable as they navigate characters that teeter between sympathetic and psychopathic. It’s a fine line they tread but both are engaging throughout. Acting out and narrating their inner-evil thoughts.

The production with its all-white kitchen and stainless steel appliances makes it feel as if you’re entering an abattoir. Maybe we are. And it will make you think twice before asking a millennial to dog-sit while you’re away...

Directed by Georgie Staight, Chutney is at The Bunker until 1 December.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


Photos by Rah Petherbridge Photography

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