Review: Fences at the Duchess Theatre

Fences 
Duchess Theatre
Reviewed on Monday 24th June 2013

August Wilson's Fences is a compelling piece of theatre which is superbly acted by one of the strongest casts in the West End.

Lenny Henry stars as Troy Maxson, a fairly complex character. As a child Troy was a gifted athlete but was denied the opportunity to make it big time. Fences follows Troy's day to day life, each scene giving a snapshot of what goes on over a number of years as Troy becomes resentful of the world and takes his anger out on his loyal wife (played by Tanya Moodie) and sport-loving son (played by Ashley Zhangazha).

Lenny Henry is perfectly cast as Troy. The part allows the famous comedian to show versatility as some scenes are very funny, which I wasn't necessarily expecting, while others are extremely sad and harrowing. Lenny portrays every single emotion perfectly and gives a powerful performance. He clearly belongs in the West End and I can't wait to see what he does next.

A strong performance also comes from Tanya Moodie who is absolutely sensational as Troy's wife, Rose. Tanya takes the audience on each and every step of Rose's heartbreaking journey, I couldn't help but feel her pain. 

August Wilson's writing is a little slow in places. The first act takes a while to get going as a lot of time is spent introducing the characters which becomes a little boring. The first half is also very funny but failed to grab my attention. The second act is far stronger as Troy makes an unexpected, life changing revelation to his wife. The play changes direction and becomes a gripping and heart wrenching piece of theatre.

Fences takes a while to conclude, during the second half I thought the play was going to end two or three times before it actually did. The show eventually concludes nicely, bringing the majority of the audience to their feet.

Reviewed by Andrew Tomlins (Editor)

andrew@westendframe.com

Fences runs at the Duchess Theatre until 14th September 2013.
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Photo Credit: Nobby Clark

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