BEATING HEART CADAVER
The Finborough
Director
“A fine playwright, sympathetic production and outstanding central performance ... a scorching picture of bereavement among two brothers and a wife sharing the impact of a child’s death... both body and spirit sliding chaotically at times, before finally reassembling in a bright light expressing acceptance of the final secret, in a resolution devoid of glibness.” Reviewsgate
“Colleen Murphy’s play charts a course through the grief process of a family who has lost their little girl. It is heart breaking, sob inducing and hilarious, the play has just the right mixture of humour and raw sadness, often they are one and the same, this blend keeps you gripped and willing to invest fully into the wrenching heartbreak of the family without fear of becoming marooned there, as just when you think the tone and pain couldn’t get any worse up pops an observation so hilarious you find tears of laughter are coursing down your face just as often as those of sadness... This play is a delight to watch, I shed a few tears, and I laughed a lot. Colleen Murphy has written an extraordinary play, and Anna Morrissey and her actors have given it life and made it flower. “
The Public Reviews
“Anna Morissey has managed to direct a clever and engaging performance by working subtle and effective elements of physicality in to the piece, in order to undertake the exploration of the human body and its consequent destruction as a result of emotional hardship... bravely loyal to Colleen Murphy’s unsentimental manner. A perfect combination of the tragic and the comic, where there is room for both tears and laughter. “
A Younger Theatre
Designer Penny Watson
Movement Director Lucy Cullingford
Sound Designer Ed Lewis
Production Manager Richard Coop