"Skin". Keble O'Reilly Theatre
Plays about the impact of serious disease on normal people like you and me make surprisingly good (if frequently traumatic) theatre. Angels in America , People, Places and Things , The Inheritance , these were all heartstopping experiences. They also won loads of awards. Skin , the first play by writer/director Peter Todd, can stand proudly next to them. It doesn't have the pizzazz, the budget or the surreality. But it does have heart. So, so much heart. A simple, short story, told on a virtually bare stage, it traces the journey of a young woman, Sadie, from having a few moles removed to facing possible death. Sensitively, dramatically, with thorough research and heart-wrenchingly good acting, it takes us through the stages, and we feel Sadie's pain, anger and confusion every step of the way. I was at the opening night this evening, and there was a well-deserved standing ovation. Some audience members were left silently hugging each other in tears as the house lights came on a...