✕ ✕
Turning tips into memories
Login
Signup

You have reached the limit of free articles.


To enjoy unlimited access to Culture Whisper sign up for FREE.
Find out more about Culture Whisper

Please fix the following input errors:

  • dummy

Each week, we send newsletters and communication featuring articles, our latest tickets invitations, and exclusive offers.

Occasional information about discounts, special offers and promotions.


OR
LOG IN

OR
  • LOG IN WITH FACEBOOK

Thanks for signing up to Culture Whisper.
Please check your inbox for a confirmation email and click the link to verify your account.



EXPLORE CULTURE WHISPER
✕ ✕
Turning tips into memories
Login
Signup

Please fix the following input errors:

  • dummy
Forgot your username or password?
Don't have an account? Sign Up

OR
  • LOG IN WITH FACEBOOK

If you click «Log in with Facebook» and are not a Culture Whisper user, you agree to our Terms & Conditions and to our Privacy Policy, which includes our Cookie Use

Support Us Login
  • Home
  • Going Out
    • Things to do
    • Food & Drink
    • Theatre
    • Visual Arts
    • Cinema
    • Kids
    • Festival
    • Gigs
    • Dance
    • Classical Music
    • Opera
    • Immersive
    • Talks
  • Staying In
    • TV
    • Books
    • Cook
    • Podcast
    • Design
    • Netflix
  • Life & Style
    • Beauty
    • Fashion
    • Gifting
    • Wellbeing
    • Lifestyle
    • Shopping
    • Jewellery
  • Explore
  • Shopping
  • CW SHOPS
  • Support Us
  • Get Started
  • Tickets
  • CW SHOPS
Get the Best of London Life, Culture and Style
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
Theatre

Iphigenia in Splott, National Theatre review ★★★★★

27 Jan 16 – 20 Feb 16, 8:00 PM – 9:30 PM

Sophie Melville enthrals as a very modern heroine in Gary Owen's stunning, shatteringly relevant one woman show

By Lucy Brooks on 1/2/2016

Iphigenia in Splott - National Theatre
Iphigenia in Splott - National Theatre
Iphigenia in Splott, National Theatre review 5 Iphigenia in Splott, National Theatre review Lucy Brooks
Violence and Son (Royal Court Jerwood Upstairs, 2015) was one of the most arresting and affecting plays we saw last year. The deftly written portrait of adolescence made us keen to hear more from playwright Gary Owen. Iphigenia in Splott, his latest play to come to the London stage, has already gathered five star reviews and a 'Best New Play' award from its premiere at the Sherman Cymru Theatre in Wales, and is just as superlative at the National's Temporary Theatre.


Taking its title from Greek drama, the one woman play relocates the mythic heroine Iphigenia to the Cardiff town of Splott. Effie, as she is known, is on a downward spiral of substance abuse and hangovers. Slumping in a grey hoodie, then twitching with hyperactivity, then lashing out at a local mother, she's the epitome of underclass. You'd cross the street to avoid her.


But this is no Vicky Pollard 'chav' stereotype. Sophie Melville's ferocious performance makes Effie impossible to judge dispassionately. With brutal honesty, acerbic humour and generous profanity, she carries you, however unwilling, into her grotty world. Just as you get lost in the depths of the drink-downing and flirting, a one-night-stand with a soldier gives way to sudden, stunning tenderness.


Gary Owen's writing, so intricately intelligent, reels you in then blindsides first with human tragedy, then its political repercussions. You can't help but be devastated as each plot development lurches further from initial expectations. 'Breath-taking' is an overused adage, but during the heart-breaking climax, we didn't actually breathe. Standing ovations are rare, especially on press night, but Sophie Melville had every tear-stained person in the Temporary Theatre on their feet.


This London transfer is the first time a Welsh producing theatre production has been staged at the National Theatre, and it's a shining example of the kind of bold, pertinent new writing that we're coming to expect from The Temporary Theatre under Rufus Norris.


by Lucy Brooks

What Iphigenia in Splott, National Theatre review
Where National Theatre, South Bank, London, SE1 9PX | MAP
Nearest tube Waterloo (underground)
When 27 Jan 16 – 20 Feb 16, 8:00 PM – 9:30 PM
Price £15 - £20
Website Click here to book via the National Theatre



Most popular

Things to do in London this weekend: 17–19 March
Things to do in London this weekend: 17–19 March
Irene Maiorino and Alba Rohrwacher in My Brilliant Friend season 4, HBO/Sky Atlantic (Photo: HBO)
My Brilliant Friend, season 4, Sky Atlantic: first-look photo, release date, plot, cast
Best art exhibitions in London. Photo: Thin Air at the Beams
Top exhibitions on now in London

Editor's Picks


  • NATIONAL THEATRE 2016 SEASON

    Radical revivals and stellar creatives: explore the new season at the N.T

    SIXTY YEARS YOUNG

    New writing reigns supreme for the Royal Court's 60th anniversary season

    CULTURE HACKS

    25 or under? Find out how to get £5 National Theatre tickets

    BRANAGH THEATRE

    A blockbuster selection of shows from theatre legend Kenneth Branagh


Sign up to CW’s newsletter
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).

We recommend nearby

  • Green Room

    A great place to eat or relax, the Nation Theatre's Green Room is enclosed in a sustainable garden, which acts as an urban oasis amid the hustle and bustle of the Southbank. The Green Room is open from noon until midnight from Monday-Saturday, and until 10pm on Sundays.

    Read more...

    Culture Whisper is your ultimate guide to the newest, most exciting cafés, bars and restaurants in London and we are sure you will love Green Room!

    Book Map

National Theatre 2016 Season

New Writing

Greek Drama

We love

You might like

  • The Suicide play, National Theatre

    REVIEW: The Suicide, National Theatre ★★★★★

  • Debut at the National Theatre: Sarah Kane's Cleansed

    Cleansed, National Theatre review ★★★★★

  • Ma Rainey's Black Bottom: 2016 National Theatre revival

    Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, National Theatre

  • Royal Court Theatre: Yen by Anna Jordan

    Yen, Royal Court Theatre



  • The Culture Whisper team
  • Support Us
  • Tickets
  • Contact us
  • Press
  • FAQ
  • Privacy
  • Terms and conditions
  • Cookies
  • Discover
  • Venues
  • Restaurants
  • Stations
  • Boroughs
Sign up to CW’s newsletter
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
×