Review: Juniper Blood (Donmar Warehouse)

Review by Daz Gale

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Mike Bartlett is back with another brand new play in London. Following a fairly middling response to Unicorn, a play that struggled to give audience members the horn, he is hoping for more luck with the world premiere of Juniper Blood, the latest show at Donmar Warehouse, coming on the back of their sensational Intimate Apparel. Would they be able to sustain another hit with this play?

Juniper Blood takes place on the farm of a man named Lip, perhaps ironically named, as he initially doesn’t say much. As he and his partner Ruth leave the city behind, trying to live differently and more sustainably, they face questions and resistance from Ruth’s step-daughter and her best friend. As their visions of the future threaten to conflict with rach other, will the pair of them manage to make it through together, and at what cost does the pursuit of pursuing ideals in a perfect world have?

It is certainly an interesting concept, and one that feels very relevant to today. In a world where we are ever reliant on technology and other modern aspects, would we ever be able to go back to basics and live off the grid? This is the intriguing premise that forms the heart of Juniper Blood, as Lip and Ruth argue their differing points relating to this and how it will affect themselves and others in their life. It is in this dynamic that Mike Bartlett’s writing truly soars, offering glimpses of what might have been.

However, the writing does sadly prove inconsistent throughout. Bartlett’s writing is frequently sharp, with a fair few laughs to be had initially and more thought-provoking moments to be found later on, but its biggest problem is the inconsistency. Many ideas are planted, but they aren’t left to grow, and that makes the whole thing feel rather muddled. There are moments when conversation starts to get going, but has the tendency to stop abruptly, never quite reaching its full potential, and lacking the impact you would hope a play with such a powerful message like this would have.

The structure of the play also feels a bit strange with the decision to split it in three Acts, despite a fairly standard runtime. This means each Act runs at around 40-45 minutes on average, with two intervals. There is nothing wrong with that in certain plays, but I wondered if that structure may be doing a disservice to this play, as it lost momentum and made it harder to reimmerse myself in the story after each one. Though each Act has a defining structure, particularly in the opening moments of each Act, there was an inconsistency with pacing throughout that, again, lessened the hoped impact. Though Act Two is the most intense as it moves the story along for the main characters, something didn’t quite connect for this one in particular, meaning it felt weaker than the Acts that both preceded and followed it.

Though Bartlett’s writing has a smattering of strong moments, there are other times where the dialogue feels clunky, stilted, and unnatural, failing to reach his usual standard. Characters don’t feel fleshed out as much as I would have liked, especially with the inclusion of the two younger characters, who seem to solely exist to be an outlet for a “woke” conversation. Their prolonged absence following this first Act made for a strange dynamic that continually changed and never seemed to find its own voice.

James Macdonald’s direction attempts to lift the writing to gloss over the moments that don’t fare as strongly, with the versatile space at the Donmar Warehouse transformed into Lip’s farm in a fairly unique and perhaps even unconventional way. The rustic design from ULTZ offers no bells and whistles and manages to convey the authenticity of the play more successfully than the writing does. Walking in to an extremely bright theatre where the lights remain that bright as the show starts was a rather different experience for me, but Jo Joelson’s lighting proves beautiful in its subtlety, gradually fading as each Act progresses and providing some great effects, Similarly, Helen Skiera’s sound design created an atmospheric setting, although this did prove slightly distracting with overzealous noises in the final Act.

What manages to elevate Juniper Blood beyond its uneven writing is its stellar cast. Sam Troughton offers an intriguing yet captivating performance as Lip, managing to make his presence felt, even when the words from his character are few and far between. Though he stays rooted in his beliefs, Troughton’s response to the characters journeys around him is what makes his performance so utterly sensational. Nadia Parkes and Terique Jarrett offer a different perspective as the younger generation with solid turns as their characters, Milly and Femi, leaving me longing to see more from them - perhaps more could have been done with this generational divide and differing attitudes, but these ideas were merely touched upon and never fully explored.

Hattie Morahan delivers a powerhouse performance as Ruth in a portrayal that demands intensity as all of her own conflicts and frustrations boil to the surface. It’s a slow burn of a performance that borders on compelling in the second Act, and explodes in a gripping final Act in perhaps the single best performance on that stage. The cast is completed with a particularly strong performance from Jonathan Slinger as neighbour and friend, Tony. Offering moments of comic relief in the first Act, the play is exponentially stronger whenever he appears on stage, though it is a shame we don’t learn more about his character, as this was yet another dynamic that could have lifted things even higher.

Juniper Blood is a fairly solid play, and one that will easily entertain you for a couple of hours. The problem it faces is similar to that of Bartlett’s last play, Unicorn, in that it never really seems to get going properly. The themes present should be compelling and are, to an extent, but they seem to be little more than mere nuggets that are never left to breathe and develop. The result is a fairly haphazard and heavy-handed piece that is far from Bartlett’s best work. That said, it does feature some strong moments throughout that show what could have been, and is worth the ticket price for the fantastic cast alone. Though Juniper Blood plants its roots well enough, its struggle to let them grow properly prevents this play from truly thriving,

Juniper Blood plays at Donmar Warehouse until 4th October. Tickets from https://allthatdazzles.londontheatredirect.com/play/juniper-blood-tickets 

Photos by Marc Brenner