Review: Death Of England: Closing Time (@SohoPlace)

Review by Daz Gale

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One of the most ambitious and exciting projects in the West End this year heads to its conclusion as the third instalment in the Death Of England: The Plays trilogy is now open. With all three plays running simultaneously at the West End’s newest theatre, @SohoPlace, I caught the first two plays, Death Of England: Michael and Death Of England: Delroy back to back last month and was hugely impressed by both (Read my double review here). Keen to see how the story ends, I had high hopes for Death Of England: Closing Team but also high expectations. Would the final chapter prove to be another winning goal for the series, or would it let the side down in the last minutes?

The original concept of Death Of England began in 2014, growing in the ten years since. Originating as a micro-play, the full original play completed a run at National Theatre in 2020 (itself a rare occurrence, given the events of that year). This third play, Death Of England: Closing Time originally played at National Theatre last year and now moves to @SohoPlace to complete the trilogy along with Michael and Delroy.

The beauty of the Death of England series is that each one can be treated as a stand-alone piece of work, though seeing multiple or all instalments in the series definitely adds a richness to the story, creating a deeper understanding and consistent parallels and themes that run through all three plays. Closing Time builds on the events of the first two plays as Michael’s sister Carly and Delroy’s mother Denise deal with their fractured relationship. With Carly and Delroy now in a relationship, the two families have come together to run the family shop first seen in the first play. However, a turn of events sees the shop closing and their dreams destroyed. As they deal with the mistakes both them and their relatives have made, both sides of the story are explored with brutal realism.

Whereas Michael and Delroy were both solo shows, Closing Team boasts a different dynamic with two actors starring. While the essence of the Death of England plays are there, this does add something extra to the affair with first-hand reactions to the other person’s dialogue and actions, not to mention the captivating nature of the sparring from these two fiery women. Clint Dyer and Roy Williams’ writing proves exceptional in its approach and always consistent through the three plays. While retaining similarities to make it clear each is a chapter of the same story, how fleshed out and individual each story becomes is a masterstroke in their writing abilities, and Closing Time is a testament to this at their very best.

The dialogue is regularly witty, always feeling natural and never forced, with both Carly and Denise exploring the inner-workings of their brains and the repercussions of their actions. The result of this proves to be incredibly powerful and thought-provoking. The recurring theme of racism that is prevalent in each of the three plays is joined in Closing Time with colonialism and cancel culture, with conversations regarding the monarchy exploring multiple sides to the same argument and feeling eerily like conversations many of us will have had in the last year or so. It is the no-holds-barred approach to these serious themes, particularly race, which holds the key to the success of Death Of England, holding a mirror up to society in a variety of ways. In this play, it is in Carly’s attitudes despite being in a relationship with Delroy and how these actions impact Denise. Seeing the conflicted nature of both women as they deal with prejudices and unwanted qualities inherited from their family leads to a rich tapestry of themes to explore.

I had heard a lot about the characters of Carly and Denise in both Michael and Delroy with stars Thomas Coombes and Paapa Essiedu giving us morsels of these characters during the events of those plays, so to see the characters fully realised by Erin Doherty and Sharon Duncan-Brewster was a rewarding experience. As Carly, Doherty is fairly brash with a confidence that ebbs away to reveal her own complexities as she grapples with the attitudes her father subconsciously instilled in her, coming to a head in a painful sequence that holds the key to the events of Closing Time. In a necessary frantic portrayal, Doherty perfectly demonstrates the conflicted nature of Carly in a character that isn’t always likeable but always captivating to watch.

Sharon Duncan-Brewster’s interpretation of Denise is one for the ages, with a brilliant less-is-more approach that threatens to steal scenes from the most subtle of reactions. Of the two performances, Duncan-Brewster has more of a bigger and emotional journey to go through as a hard outer shell reveal inner-workings that endear the character to the audience. In an outstanding performance, Duncan-Brewster’s Denise threatens to pull focus but beautifully finds the balance with Doherty’s Carly to create a partnership where both actresses are allowed their time to shine with their constant sparring always riveting to watch. Like the previous two plays, Closing Time features a degree of audience interaction and improvising based on these responses – from Doherty offering a substance to a member of the audience to Duncan-Brewster’s absolutely brilliant early adlib to a lively audience member who responded to a question, this live and uncertain nature to the performance adds a raw quality that adds to the charm and impact of the series.

While all three plays use the same stage, laid out as a Saint Georges cross, the production design from Sadeysa Greenaway-Bailey and ULTZ kicks it up a level for Closing Time. It is the reveal of the design of the rig attached to the ceiling that provides a jaw-dropping moment – something that had passed me by in the first two plays until an ingenious bit of lighting revealed its true purpose. Jackie Shemesh fantastic lighting design ensures a beautiful aesthetic with rapid pacing creating fantastically executed transitions from one character to another, with one integral sequence using an innovative use of this to signify an online stream to brilliant effect.

The Death of England trilogy may have been an ambitious project but it has paid off beautifully. Through Clint Dyer and Roy Williams’ writing and Dyer’s direction, all three plays are of a consistently high standard, all standing up for themselves in their own right but coming together to create something truly magnificent. In regards to Closing Time, it builds on themes from the previous two plays and brings a new perspective to create something truly powerful, poignant and thought-provoking. My double bill of Michael and Delroy is a night at the theatre I have thought about time and time again since, and I suspect I’ll be having the same response to Closing Time.

Collectively, all three instalments of Death of England: The Plays are an important piece of theatre and one that could challenge some of the attitudes still so sadly prevalent in today’s society – some of which have been brought to the surface in shocking ways in the month since my visit to the first two plays. An in-depth look at what makes people act the way they do and the issues that come from having others beliefs instilled on you, overall Death of England has been a resounding success and one that I hope lives on in the years to come.

Death of England: Closing Time plays at @SohoPlace until 28th September along with the two other plays in the series. Tickets from https://deathofengland.com/

Photos by Helen Murray