More Good Responses to Leopoldville on 'Broadway Baby'

The youth of everyday?

This play, I believe is set in the early 90s and follows a gang of Northern Irish lads angry and bitter at their lot who believe it is their right to take from others what they feel they are entitled to themselves. I have recently watched Harry Brown and whilst the colloquialisms change, the sadness and the desperation remains. The behaviour of some of these characters in Leopoldville is deplorable, yes, but also understandable. Desperate times call for desperate measures as the old maxim goes and these boys are desperate and as an audience member you are never sure where or indeed if they are prepared to draw the line.

I was a huge fan of this piece, my friend saw it last week and suggested I should go and I was thoroughly glad I did. This is a sharp, well observed piece of writing that is performed beautifully by this young, ensemble cast. The tension builds and builds throughout the play culminating in a harrowing twist that both excites and disgusts in equal measure. This piece left me with more questions than answers and a lot of liberal, left wing soul searching to do as I tried to reconcile myself to the smorgesboard of issues so expertly put in front of me and that surely is the reason for theatre?
Fantastic work.

Not a bad review, eh? LEOPOLDVILLE has one more week left to run (at Tristan Bates anyway). Catch it while you can.