At Dirty Protest |
| Last Christmas , CLWYD THEATR CYMRU , May 5, 2013 |
Wales' other drama in the Celtic Festival is Last Christmas, a monologue written by Matthew Bulgo. Tom is a man angry and frustrated by life who has an inner soul that explodes with spleen at workmates, friends, wife and anyone who gets in his way. But, as he keeps on reminding us, he never says any of that. One Christmas, after his father's death, he returns home to Swansea and there he finds emotional truth and maturity in things he has been too blinkered to recognise.Sion Pritchard, alone and with no props or business, except for a plethora of bodily twitches, delivers an astonishing performance. For much of the 65 minutes Tom is not a very sympathetic character, he comes over as self-centred and wholly non-empathetic. His tirades about the office party and about Swansea en fete are funny but savage. The actor delivers the spleen with gusto but it's the subtlety with which he shows awareness and understanding creeping in that's especially impressive. By the time he realises and accepts the impact his father has had on him I was welling up inside. A strong piece, stunningly performed. |
Reviewed by: Victor Hallett |
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