Review: Our Town at the King's Head Theatre

Our Town

King's Head Theatre

Reviewed on Friday 28th June 2013

Our Town is Thornton Wilder’s best known and loved play, and this production at the King's Head Theatre marks the official 75th anniversary UK production and the first major London revival in a generation. Set in the fictional American small town, the play follows the citizens' day to day lives. Divided into three short acts (with two intervals) Our Town is a play which explores life.

Our Town is performed with style, constantly breaking the fourth wall and reminding the audience that they are sitting in a theatre. This allows one to sit back and think about the issues raised in the piece. It was interesting that as Wilder's play concluded, a few audience members were left in tears. I wonder whether they were crying for the characters or if they had related the play to their own lives? No props are used, objects are mimed and the set is simplistic. I love shows which require the audience to use a little imagination. 

I love the structure of the piece. The first act is 40 minutes while acts two and three are just half an hour. This keeps the pace of the play going strong and makes sense as time passes between the acts. Plus, it was lovely to spend two intervals in the King's Head, one of my favourite pub theatres.

Last year I reviewed two Thornton Wilder plays which ran at the King's Head. It was great to see a handful of the cast return to this production. While Our Town is a fairly thought provoking piece of theatre, it didn't have the same impact on me as The Long Christmas Dinner did last year, which remains one of my favorite plays.

I think Our Town is quite a personal play which will mean different things to different people. I can imagine some will fall in love with this production while others will struggle to connect and relate to Wilder’s writing.

Reviewed by Andrew Tomlins
andrew@westendframe.com

Our Town runs at the King's Head Theatre until Saturday 20 July 2013.
Visit www.kingsheadtheatre.co.uk for further information and tickets.

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