Rose doesn’t believe in the future. It’s hard to look forward when there’s so much past to contend with. In this memory play, its Jewish heroine sits shiva – mourning for the many dead.
Martin Sherman’s solo play summoning the Jewish 20th century premiered in 1999. Maureen Lipman starred in an online production early in the pandemic – now she gets to spellbind in person. Often goofily physical, here she is rivetingly contained, all restraint and grace notes (though the colourful, overenthusiastic lighting design can make her seem trapped in a lava lamp). She’ll crack a joke then watch us quizzically; chasms open behind the twinkle. Tears fall unbidden, barely acknowledged: Rose’s turn is an unsentimental one.
