UK Theatre Network

There There is no happy love.

Writer Tomas Hirst and director Oliver Lyttelton return to the stage after their success of In Parallel at the Arcola Theatre to take a fresh look at the traditional courtroom drama. Matryoshka illustrates the brutal mechanism of a seemingly cold and aloof legal system and its effects on those caught up in it.

Sophie (Nanou Harry) and Alexander (Alex Walker) are locked in an increasingly ugly divorce battle. Their focus is not on dividing their considerable assets but on who will be given custody of their daughter Catherine. They hire two ambitious lawyers – Charlotte (Tara Hart) and Leo (John Sandeman) – to help resolve the impasse. Instead of reaching a solution, however, the warring pair drag their legal council into the fraying web of their relationship. 

At the same time, Luke (Stefan Doolan), the bipolar son of Charlotte’s cleaner Sue (Ruth Evans), decides to wean himself off his medication. With his state of mind unravelling his mother is given the choice of risking to be judged as an overbearing control-freak or remaining passive while her son is slipping into complete isolation from those around him.

The six characters desperately try to stay in control of their own lives but they find themselves merely fuelling the chaos. The divided couple and Sue are trying to do what is best for their children but their actions only seem to make matters worse.

There are fine performances by the entire ensemble. I was particularly impressed by Ruth Evans as the tormented mother and the cool aloofness of Alex Walker’s husband. Jean Apps convincingly portrays the judge who bears the responsibility for the fate of the child.

Feb. 23 to March 13, 2010 at 7.30 pm
Box Office: 0207 737 7276
Tickets: £ 10  Conc.: £ 8
Landor Theatre, 79 Landor Road, London SW9