A Mirror

On a strong recommendation from a friend, we managed to grab some tickets for the last day of A Mirror at the Trafalgar Theatre (who knew there was a massive, very plush, new-ish theatre on Whitehall?) yesterday.

We went in knowing nothing about it (also on instructions from our friend) and I'm glad that was the case, so I don't want to spoiler anything here.

Suffice it to say, there were layers within layers, plays within plays, an immersive aspect I really wasn't expecting but that was very effective, and a level of meta narrative of the kind I love.

It was funny and painful and made me uncomfortable and question things.

The posters outside said that Johnny Lee Miller was 'a triumph', though I'm not sure I entirely agree with that. He was certainly the only one in the cast who successfully enunciated and projected enough to make all his lines clear and audible - but that just meant it seemed like he was shouting all the time, in comparison to the others... Don't get me wrong - he was very good (they all were), but the performances didn't blow me away.

I also wasn't keen on the fact that all three of the main male characters were leching after the only female character (especially since one of them was supposedly being massively impacted by grief for his wife and he was the worst offender), but that was a minor issue.

The twists and turns were mostly really great and unexpected - I certainly didn't see the main one coming - though the ultimate conclusion was perhaps a little didactic.

But overall, an excellent theatrical experience!