A Good Clean Heart
Underbelly
11 August 2016
5 Stars
Book Now Fighting for attention on the Fringe is this beautifully written bilingual play of two brothers, separated by adoption, who find each other when the younger turns 18. It's a bilingual production in Welsh and English, but excellent subtitles and acting keep the story gripping and understandable. Welsh Hefin, (Kevin), discovers he has a half-brother. Impulsive and angry, he dives on a bus to London to meet street wise Jay. That Jay is black adds to their communication problems, and what threatens to become a cliched play about street crime takes a tender twist. James Ifan and Oliver Wellington excel not just as the brothers but all the characters we meet, especially their damaged mother. Alun Saunder's beautiful script is not just bilingual, he also explores street language and bravado. Excellent direction and movement and a wonderful karaoke section allow the play to soar. This is a gem of a coming of age play, sincere and funny, highly recommended.
BOOK NOW FOR A GOOD CLEAN HEART AT UNDERBELLY
Paul is a playwright, director, actor, academic, (he has a PhD from the University of East Anglia), teacher and theatre reviewer! His plays include Living with Luke, (UK tour 2016), Play Something, (Edinburgh Festival Fringe/Drayton Arms Theatre, London 2018), , (2019), and now The Miner’s Crow, which won the inaugural Artist’s Pick of the Fringe Award at the first ever Colchester Fringe Festival 2021. In lockdown 2020 he created the audio series Isolation Alan, available on Youtube, and performed online in the Voice Box Festival. He is the founder member of Stage Write, a Colchester based theatre company, and his acting roles include Rupert in How We Love by Annette Brook, first performed at the Vaults Festival 2020 and revived at the Arcola and at Theatre Peckham in 2021. Follow: @stagewrite_
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