REVIEW: Death of England - Closing Time, National Theatre ✭✭✭✭

Paul T Davies reviews Death of England - Closing Time now playing at the Dorfman Theatre at the National Theatre.

Sharon Duncan Brewster and Hayley Squires. Photo: Feruza Afewerki Death of England- Closing Time.

The Dorfman, National Theatre.

23 September 2023

4 Stars

Book Tickets N.B.- Since reviewing the production, Jo Martin has been indisposed. The role of Denise is now performed by Sharon Duncan-Brewster.

Entering the auditorium and seeing the St. George’s cross, striking and red, takes Clint Dyer’s and Roy William’s masterly state of the nation sequence back to the beginning, in this same auditorium, three years ago before the pandemic hit. We’ve heard from Michael Fletcher after the death of his father, a diehard Leyton Orient fan, old style racist, and from Delroy, Michael’s friend and married to his sister, Carly. At the end of Death of England: Face To Face, the boys have convinced Carly and Delroy’s mum, Denise, to open a florists and West Indian takeaway with them. Now, finally, we get to hear their version of events, but all is not rosy, as the action begins on the day the business is closing and a stranger is coming to pick up the keys to the business.

Sharon Duncan Brewster. Photo: Feruza Afewerki

As with the first instalment, the set creates a superb dynamic with the audience, and the actors make full use of the space and atmosphere., with the acting being of an exceptional standard. Hayley Squires is outstanding as Carly, street wise and totally in love with Delroy, despite her flaws and the stamp of racism that her father has left on her, much as she tries to work against it. She inhabits and channels Delroy superbly, underlining the nightmares he has after losing is father at a young age, and she also, by spoofing her relationship with him, demonstrates how much her opinion is from a white woman’s perspective. There is a memorable sequence in which she plays all members of her family, father, mother, and Michael, around the dinner table discussing whether to invite Delroy, Michael’s new best friend, round for tea. The script is geared slightly towards Carly, and Jo Martin as Denise sometimes has to work harder to get the focus on her. But this is deliberate, demonstrating how women like Denise are not listened to, and Martin, despite her anger, creates a quiet dignity. When Carly’s drunken demonstration of the five things about black men, spoken on a hen night, goes viral, it closes the business as customers cancel the shop. Stereotypes are challenged, and audience members recognised the characters and the dialogue as real. In fact, interaction with the audience is a highlight, Martin even asking, when a phone went off in the auditorium, whether “Anyone is going to get that?”

Hayley Squires. Photo: Feruza Afewerki

The metaphor of the shop closed is a perfect one for broken Britain, as is the women’s confirmation that they have each other’s back. Although sometimes I felt there could have been more anger between them, it does beautifully attest to, as John Lennon said, that women hold up half the sky. Let down by their men, and the class system, they stand united as an unknown man approaches to remove any success they may have achieved. It completes this quartet of plays beautifully, superbly directed and written, on a strong note.

Until 11 November 2023