Review by Daz Gale
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King’s Head Theatre are kicking off 2025 with the first two of a year full of exciting new and returning shows. I have already reviewed their first production FIREBIRD but if you hang around after that performance, a quick transformation will see you entering the world of Cesca Echlin as her debut play Looking For Giants comes to London, following a successful season in Edinburgh last year. Would this show tower above the rest or would I still be looking for satisfaction?
Looking For Giants is a monologue split into three parts. It sees a nameless woman recounting her relationships with three different men – one being a university tutor, another on a dating app and the third a fellow student at school. Attempting to empower women by putting the female gaze front and centre, this one-woman show doesn’t hide from the male narrative but ensures the woman is always front and centre.

Cesca Echlin’s writing impresses throughout. Through the course of just over an hour, she reveals the richness and complexities of the unknown character, not afraid to tackle taboo subjects such as sexuality in a brazen and uncompromising portrayal. The result is something quite mesmerising to watch. A truly gifted writer, Echlin has a knack for unravelling not just the femininity of our unnamed protagonist but the humanity as well, in an honest, occasionally brutal and sometimes uncomfortable watch.
Mind games and unhealthy obsessions play a part at times, with certain aspects some may find relatable from their own experience. Blurring the lines between fantasy and reality, you fall into this woman’s world in awe of her story and the many twists her tale takes. Diving headfirst into gendered stereotypes, its frank depiction of sex and pornography makes no attempt to gloss over the grittiness of certain aspects – a factor that makes Looking For Giants all the more compelling.

Echlin also directs the piece, ensuring the woman is always playing to the audience at the intimate yet versatile King’s Head Theatre, interacting with them but never uncomfortably so. This leads to an intimate evening where it almost feels as if you are talking to this woman privately – this allows for an instant connection and makes Looking For Giants all the more powerful.
Abby McCann plays the role of the woman, holding her own on stage for an hour and never missing a beat in a performance full of energy and charisma, captivating you at every turn. With a clear affinity to Echlin’s words, she gives an authentic and at times urgent portrayal of the woman’s story, charting highs and lows and reclaiming her own story. Remaining on stage alone for all that time isn’t always the easiest thing but McCann acts as if it is nothing at all in a truly wonderful performance that brought Echlin’s writing to life in fantastic fashion.

A beautiful use of lighting adds to the piece with Skylar Turnbull Hurd’s design showing versatility in how Abby McCann is lit in a show that focuses more on darkness and low-lighting. This lighting comes alive in one distinct sequence, set in a club scene with great choices emphasising the details. Similarly Sarah Spencer’s sound design provides an atmospheric soundtrack, almost ominous at times and elevating the mood with a use of music adding to the versatility of Looking For Giants.
Looking For Giants proved to be a compelling watch with Cesca Echlin’s no-holds-barred approach to writing creating a frank but fantastic semi-autobiographical tale that refuses to give power to the male gaze. With writing as powerful as this and a performance equally strong, there is no reason for audiences to leave this wonderful show feeling anything less than a giant themselves.
Looking For Giants plays at the King’s head Theatre until 26th January. Tickets from https://kingsheadtheatre.com/whats-on/looking-for-giants