In Memory of Leaves on a Boat | The Play's The Thing UK review

A review excerpt from The Play's The Thing UK by Laura Kressly.

Since 2013, Natasha Langridge has watched her neighbourhood become unrecognisable. As the developers and their machinery creep ever closer with every passing month, she documents their journey along side her love life. Birds sing in trees as she falls in love with Dave who lives in Korea, and those trees are chopped down as she gets off with her much younger Drama Lover.

These stories unfold on one of London’s canals, which are becoming increasingly crowded as more and more people seek to escape the prohibitive costs of living on the land. The audience hunkers round a rope-lit floor of a barge with a wood burning stove at one end, evoking one of the oldest rituals known to humankind.

"Langridge is a skilled storyteller and In Memory of Leaves is an urgent, necessary work. Her story is angering, yet sadly recognisable to most Londoners. Langridge’s script takes the form of letters, each one dated, to her long-distance love. They are a great mix of joy and rage, including vivid accounts of her political activism and time volunteering in Calais. Langridge delivers them with undeniable passion and energy."

For the full review please go to: The Play's The Thing UK