THEATRE REVIEW: Brighton Rock ★★★

Brighton Rock
Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham
Wednesday 28th March 2018

Set in Brighton during the 1930s, Bryony Lavery's adaption of Graham Greene's thriller novel centre's around Pinkie (Jacob James Beswick), a 17 year old with a drive for murder, who catches the eye of Rose (Sarah Middleton), a 16 year old waitress, who too straight away becomes infatuated with his antics and seems to never let go, in this visually stunning production that leaves you gasping for your own breath even by the end of the first act.

Sara Perks’ rustic design paves way for Ester Richardson, first time director for Pilot Theatre, to delve deeper into the text adapted by Lavery to use every inch of the stage to her advantage which constantly amazes the audience, especially after the fast paced chase sequence at the beginning of the production. Aideen Malone also excels in the lighting which adds atmosphere and makes really the esthetic for the piece stand out, with the clever use of side lighting really being able to capture the bipolar characteristics of every performer on stage.

The whole company, along with live music upstage of the action, thrive in what they bring to the stage as you cannot take your vision or thoughts away from the passion and commitment that they pour into making Greene's original intent for this story become a reality, though at times Lavery’s adaption feels like it stumbles on bringing ideas to the stage that are never really fulfilled, with a clumsy ending, and at times Richardson's direction leaves us in the dark in unnatural scene changes.

Overall, Brighton Rock delivers in transporting the audience to a time of a life of crime with blood-thirsty characters, but lacks with the commitment to see the production bring certain ideas to life.