THEATRE REVIEW: Things I Know to be True ★★★★★

Things I Know to be True
Warwick Arts Centre
12th October 2016

I have never in my whole life walked out of an auditorium feeling so numb that I have tonight watching ‘Things I Know to be True’ from Frantic Assembly, in co-directed with State Theatre Company of South Australia. I cried like I never have before, more than any other theatre production has had me on the verge of, because this production was phenomenal!

I cannot recall a time where I watched a theatre production that has had the amount of gratitude then the audience gave for this evening's performance. The acting on stage from all involved was unlike any that I have seen before, from characteristics to drawing us into their lives, the Price family, and follow them through the eyes of the four siblings to Bob (Ewan Stewart) and Fran (Imogen Stubbs); Rosie (Kirsty Oswald), Pip (Natalie Casey), Ben (Richard Mylan) and Mark (Matthew Price).

I loved the simplicity of the set and how clever the lighting was to portray emotion and key movement in scenes. This is something that I think is really underrated in theatre, but judging from this performance is something that I believe everyone will agree, with the beautiful use that it gave to the production.

As a company, I have followed Frantic Assembly to know how strong and reliable they are to produce a story so concrete that you will not be disappointed. It is one of those plays that I would happily watch over and over for the foreseeable future and find something new to enjoy each time.

I felt like I knew this family and felt a part of their stories; from heartbreak to gender roles, to financial & independence, I knew what these characters in front of us, the audience, were going through. I can't express how much this whole production drew me in front start to finish, and how I felt the emotions that they were all going through.

I couldn't recommend this production more to anyone; it's a production that I will not forget for a very long time, and is meant for everyone, adults and children alike.