Cordelia Lynn’s Sea Creatures is superbly forged at Hampstead Theatre downstairs however punishingly obscure
“Where’s Robin?”
It’s been a second since I’ve been downstairs on the Hampstead, an intimate studio area that has performed host to a variety of extra daring fare than maybe one would possibly count on in the principle home. That experimental remit has receded somewhat since my days of reserving the whole lot there however Cordelia Lynn’s Sea Creatures returns to it with glee, however little return for me no less than.
The setting is a home by the ocean by which a household of girls reside. A person arrives, in search of his lover who was beforehand a daughter of this family, however neither her sisters nor her mom or her accomplice have seen her. And so we settle in for an uneasy summer time by which little or no occurs, a lot is left ambiguous and persistence will get examined.
James McDonald’s manufacturing does properly to attempt to maintain collectively Lynn’s disparate scenes. She has a transparent manner with language, an creative method which is intermittently lovely right here. And as themes of grief and loss and love and lobsters take their flip underneath the highlight, flashes of inspiration shine by way of the naturalism of Zoë Hurwitz’s set.
But as we push close to the 2 hour mark with out an interval or any thread that binds collectively the entire, the mysterious vibe proves far too irritating. Even with the likes of Thusitha Jayasundera, Geraldine Alexander and Tom Mothersdale making an attempt their finest, the gradual burn putters out. June Watson is outstanding in her personal show-stopping second however it is a play to throw again into the water.