Review: Evening All Afternoon (Donmar Warehouse)

Review by Daz Gale

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Occasionally, the stars align in the world of theatre and bring several shows with similar themes to the stage at the same time. That seems to be the case in recent months with shows about grief, with Guess How Much I Love You?, Lost Atoms and The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry all featuring grief as a key plot point. That theme is continuing this week with the world premiere of the latest play at Donmar Warehouse, Evening All Afternoon. Would it prove captivating enough to make time stand still, or would it drift a little too long, like a particularly slow afternoon?

Evening All Afternoon is a two-hander focusing on Jennifer as she prepares to become the stepmother of Delilah. Both women are markedly different, and Delilah is determined to paint Jennifer as the evil stepmother, despite Jennifer’s best efforts to create a bond between the feet. However, this takes place during a particularly challenging time in the world where time doesn’t behave as it should, and as external forces throw the two together against their will, can they find any common ground, and realise they’re actually not as different as they both think?

Grief plays a part in the story, never quite dominating the story but always lingering in the background and proving the catalyst for the actions that propel the story forward. Delilah is still reeling from the premature loss of her mother, hardening herself from this loss and determinedly refusing to let her new stepmother in, while Jennifer has also lost her mother, and is clinging on to the physical reminders as part of her way to dealing with it, While Jennifer feels overly controlled and measured, it is clear that Delilah hasn’t yet gone through the entire grief process, and this manifests itself in different ways.

Anna Ziegler’s play explores these themes in creative ways that always proves interesting to watch, ensuring there are varying contributing factors to the themes that extend beyond simply grief, Evening All Afternoon also explores the themes of family and specifically motherhood, exploring what it means to be a mother and diving into blended families from both the perspective of the step-mother and the child, The play also explores the backdrop of an ever-changing world, with those dark days from 2020 forming part of the story as both Jennifer and Delilah have to adapt to a strange world neither could have ever imagined.

There is plenty for Evening All Afternoon to explore, and it does a fine job of teasing elements of each aspect, almost as if it is offering the headlines for each. The issue is that it doesn’t always dive beneath the surface as thoroughly as it should, meaning that some of the themes don’t land with the impact. Though the play retained my attention throughout, I couldn’t help but feel a slight disconnect with the text, longing for an emotional response that would have given the themes present the power they deserved.

Diyan Zora’s direction proves interesting, with an extremely sparse and minimalist stage deceptively “dull” (for lack of a better word) in its nature. This deception leads to a fairly static opening where both actors stand on a revolve with minimal responses. Evening All Afternoon is a slow-burning play, with Zora revealing her tricks as time moves forward, giving subtle but effective transformations of the stage and mixing things up, particularly when it comes to the dynamic of the two actors. Running at 85 minutes without an interval, it is a relatively speedy play, though the pacing isn’t always as even as hoped; it certainly never drags.

Some of the design elements are used creatively, particularly a striking use of lighting from Natasha Chivers, with a couple of scenes involving shadows demonstrating the best of Zora’s direction, bringing a distinct aesthetic and a new layer to the play. This all plays out on Basia Binkowska’s rather on-the-nose, very blue stage, whose initial basic appearance reveals itself as the play progresses.

One of the strongest elements in Evening All Afternoon is the cast, with two powerhouse performers, both different in style but working together to create the best kind of theatre magic. Anastasia Hille gives a fantastically nuanced portrayal of Jennifer, the older woman who has inherited a new family and hasn’t necessarily been given the right tools to prepare herself for this challenge in this new stage of her life. There is a complexity to Jennifer with her usual calm demeanour breaking at several moments when she is pushed past her limits, giving Hille the opportunity to showcase her strengths and versatility in a strong performance.

Erin Kellyman is the polar opposite as Delilah, in some ways embodying a Generation Z person disillusioned with life and mortified by the older generation, particularly when it comes to her “weird” step-mother. Though both women are different, the similarities are there, with Kellyman also offering a more withdrawn and understated performance that segues into much grander moments as her character experiences what the play describes as “a wobble”. It is in these larger moments that the power of Kellyman’s abilities is truly felt, though how captivating she can be in the smaller, more dismissive moments also astounds. Given the fact that this is her professional stage debut, it is a remarkably impressive performance that suggests we should be seeing a lot more of her on stage in the years to come.

Evening All Afternoon offers no shortage of themes and topics to consider, with many strengths to be found throughout the course of the play. However, not every aspect is given the weight it deserves with a bit more unpacking, allowing for an emotional response and a connection I longed for. That said, the play still manages to prove compelling throughout, elevated by some clever choices and undoubtedly bolstered by two knockout performances. Perhaps not the strongest play dealing with grief you will see on a London stage this year, but still a show worthy of spending an evening at… or even an afternoon.

Evening All Afternoon plays at Donmar Warehouse until 11th April. Tickets from https://www.donmarwarehouse.com/events/evening-all-afternoon/?instance-type=standard 

Photos by Marc Brenner