The Winterling
by Jez Butterworth
The White Bear Theatre
June, 2011
Critics Choice
Timeout
Micheal Billington
Nominated for OffWestEnd Award
Best Supporting Actor:
Mario Demetriou (Wally)
Synopsis
The Winterling is a darkly comic drama built on a myriad of startling characters and an unrelenting barrage of rapid-fire wit.
“I like London. I like pavements. I like to walk out the door and not sink up to my tits in primordial sludge. I don’t like trenchfoot. I don’t like sheep. I don’t like the country. It’s covered in shit.”
West waits in a burnt-out farmhouse, on Dartmoor, in the depths of winter, for two associates from the city. The wine has been poured and the revolver loaded. But who or what is waiting upstairs?
Here, Dartmoor becomes the Siberia of the south-west. Len West, an exiled gangster turfed out for untrustworthiness, gradually claims his territory off local badger-fighting hobo Draycott (Luke Trebilcock).
However, the past comes a-knocking, when Wally, West’s former associate, turns up with new recruit Patsy in tow. The choice is between two communities, neither of which society would condone.
**** 4 Stars and Critic's Choice
Timeout
“Sebastien Blanc’s top-quality fringe revival hangs on the coattails of recent Broadway success, but it more than delivers in its own right… Blanc refuses to fill the blanks and so controls the atmosphere perfectly. Like dirt under the fingernails of a corpse, it’s both repulsive and puzzling.”
***** 5 Stars
WhatsOnStage.
“Stone Junction’s production, as directed by Sebastien Blanc, is an intense, intellectual and imaginative piece of theatre, with stunning performances by his team of actors, whose claustrophobic presence is aided by a set that both defines and confines the characters and, in the White Bear space, puts us in there too.”
**** 4 Stars
Remote Goat.
“Sebastien Blanc's savvy direction leaves the action open ended giving the audience a chance to draw their own conclusions; something Pinter would have approved of. Butterworth's language has a real bite to it, able to chill and repel yet entice at the same time. The confusion and the anxiety created by this quite alarming piece keep you questioning until well after the curtain call.” “Bloomin' ek.... I chewed all my nails off watching this!!! Loved it!!” Jonesy – Theatre goer.“Best play I’ve ever seen on the fringe…by a long way”. Max Warrick, actor and Theatre goer.
