Hannah Millward, left, and Lucy Benjamin in Here
(Picture: The Other Richard)A finely observed West Midlands family drama with mild supernatural overtones, Clive Judd’s debut play won Papatango’s 2022 playwriting award. It’s given a sensitive production here by the company’s director George Turvey, in which the two young actors in the four-strong cast shine particularly brightly.
It’s not perfect: Birmingham-based Judd, a theatre director himself as well as a bookseller and prose writer, has a better command of character and mood than plot. The slow smoulder of suggestion about the secrets and unhappiness that beset the family doesn’t end with a satisfying enough bang. Even the cast seemed uncertain whether the play had finished last night. But Papatango has once again identified a talent worth watching.
