Hidden in the Sand
Trafalgar Studios 2
Reviewed on Friday 4th October 2013
Hidden in the Sand is a new play written and directed by James Phillips. Starting in London the play centres around Alexandra, a refugee from the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, who has moved to the capital but is still haunted by her past. The play begins by establishing her relationship with Jonathan. The pair fall deeply in love but it’s not plain sailing for the couple as Alexandra is still attempting to let go of her past.
Hidden in the Sand starts well, the passion of Alexandra and Jonathan’s growing relationship provides a handful of tender moments. Phillips’ writing is also witty which really helped me to warm to the show quickly, particularly to Alexandra .
Unfortunately the play goes slightly downhill. As soon as Hidden in the Sand switches focus to Alexandra’s past it becomes very text heavy and tedious. It loses its heart and Phillips’ direction is a little static. Trafalgar Studios 2 may be very small but I have seen some fantastic simple productions there, but Hidden in the Sand seems to struggle.
Timothy Bird’s design doesn't help. When done well, a simplistic design can be extremely effective but apart from the projections, which I loved and found very powerful, the design was underwhelming and limiting. This passionate story of love and family secrets needs to be more visual.
The cast are strong and Phillips has clearly worked his actors hard as they perform the text with great detail. Sally Dexter (Alexandra) puts her all into her performance. The character goes on quite a journey and Sally takes the audience on every step of the ride.
This production is full of missed opportunities. At the core of Hidden in the Sand is a very special piece of theatre but the piece still needs work and development before it can become the passionate and moving story that I so wanted it to be.
Reviewed by Andrew Tomlins (Editor)
Hidden in the Sand runs at Trafalgar Studios 2 until Saturday 26th October 2013.
Please visit www.atgtickets.com/shows/hidden-in-the-sand to book tickets.
Photo Credit: Matt Cooper
Please visit www.atgtickets.com/shows/hidden-in-the-sand to book tickets.
Photo Credit: Matt Cooper
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