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Finding love can be cruel Bird
Birmingham Rep Door
**** LAURA Lomas's one act play about a young
girl's realisation that love isn't all it's cracked up be is a stark, hard hitting piece of theatre delivered without frills. Amakar Okafor as Leah powers through an
intense monologue with impressive pace and real attack. She
addresses the audience directly from a set made up of piles of
mattresses and various detritus that go to make up a teenager’s rooms.
Takeaway boxes, drink cans and strewn litter add garnish to a clever, if
rather stark, image. The room, just like Leah's thoughts, is haphazard
and somewhat messy. Okafor captures the angst of a young girl finding
her way in life and delivers her observations with absolute sincerity.
Her inevitable discovery that love is not always sweet is beautiful,
played out without sentiment. Naturalistic acting of highest order. Emphasis here is on theatre that both informs and
platforms real lives. The danger, of course, with a play that explores
day to day issues is that it won't appeal to those who see theatre as
means of escaping their own problems for a couple of hours. The truth is those people won't be there- they
will be down the road paying considerably more to watch the latest high
kicking musical. That's the joy of theatre though. There is
something for everyone. Sharp writing combined with a performance that
oozes street cred go to make an intensely watchable and powerful piece
of bang up to date theatre. Tom Roberts
20-10-14 Bird tours until Nov 18th
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