Reviews round-up: Things I Know To be True

A reviews round-up for Things I Know To be True at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre.

The UK premiere of Andrew Bovell’s Thing’s I Know To Be True has opened to widespread acclaim at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre.

Co-directed by Geordie Bookman and Scott Graham, the show is a co-production by the State Theatre Company of South Australia and Frantic Assembly.

“Beautifully staged” (Guardian) the production “is a thing of beauty” with “writing so powerful that only very rarely do you feel that some moment is issue- rather than character-driven” (Independent). The staging is “fluent without being grandiose” (Evening Standard) and “the movement is used sparingly and piercingly to physicalise subtext.’ (Independent.

The production features strong performances from Imogen Stubbs who “intelligently invests her [character] with a rasping anger that conceals her passionate love for her fractured family”, Ewen Stewart who plays her redundant husband and Kirsty Oswald and Matthew Barker who play two of their children.

Things I Know To be True runs until 1 October at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre.

Here’s what the reviews had to say

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REVIEWS ROUND-UP

“Beautifully staged but strikes me as spurious in its belief that suburban sadness is the same the world over.” “The production, however, is a pleasure to watch. South Australia’s Geordie Brookman and Frantic Assembly’s Scott Graham, as joint directors, transform the stage from an empty space to a suburban garden and synthesise text and movement. “ T”he hands that caress Rosie’s body during her opening monologue perfectly evoke the presence of her fly-by-night lover, while the later airborne lifting of Fran Price balletically captures the suppressed erotic dreams of a working mum.” “Fran is very much the dominant figure and Imogen Stubbs, playing her with a strong north-country accent, intelligently invests her with a rasping anger that conceals her passionate love for her fractured family. Ewan Stewart is equally good as the redundant Bob and at one point, as if in expression of vanished hopes, tilts his body forward at an angle of 45 degrees like the old music-hall comedian, Little Tich. Kirsty Oswald as the roving Rosie and Matthew Barker as the sexually uncertain Mark also impress in a strong cast.” Michael Billington, The Guardian
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