Mouthpiece

          I'm in two minds about Soho Theatre. Its a nice theatre space, thought the foyer is extremely small and the bar gets very busy. This makes the time waiting to be let into the theatre itself rather annoying/awkward. Soho Theatre has three performance spaces; Soho Theatre, Soho Upstairs and Soho Downstairs. By having these three spaces, it means multiple shows are able to start at similar times, which only adds to the overcrowded and cramped conditions of the waiting areas. Staff are always lovely, and do the best they can in the conditions in which they have to work. As I said, the theatre itself is lovely. The seats in the main theatre space are a little close to one another, though overall its a good environment to watch theatre. With roughly 150 seats the theatre has a wonderful intimate feel, and the seats have a good enough rake that views of the stage aren't impaired. This means shows like Mouthpiece can really grab you by the scruff on the neck and shake you about.

          The show started slightly slow and didn't grab my interest from the start. However, by the end I was hooked. I was committed to the story, and was interested to see where it led. The performances by Lorn Macdonald and Neve McIntosh were brilliant, and I was convinced they were real people. With histories, lives, troubles, dreams and aspirations. The set, or lack there of, didn't distract from but only enhanced the bleakness of the story. This was an extremely clever choice by the designer Kai Fischer and director Orla O'Loughlin. The play has been exceptionally written by the Scottish playwright Kieran Hurley, probably most known for his award winning play Beats (which was also performed in the Soho theatre back in 2013).

          The show was hard hitting and emotional. Not something I always enjoy but I was so in the mood for it on this occasion. A lot of the time I just want something light and fluffy, but this time around I was in for something that just punched me in the stomach. This didn't disappoint. Mouthpiece is one of the most honest and true pieces of theatre I've seen in a very long time. It brings up important messages of lack of support there is for those considered destitute of in the lowest section of society. It shows how manipulative society and people can be. But it also, in some small way, gives hope that with just a little support people can flourish and prosper. Now the show rips this to shreds, but the original message in no way gets lost.

          Kieran Hurley has gained a new fan. I'm very much looking forward to his future projects, including a new film based on his play BEATS which is to be released later this year. Interestingly the film stars the actor from this show, Lorn Macdonald.

For more information and to buy tickets, click here.