Gillian Kirkpatrick in The House of Mirrors and Hearts at the Arcola Theatre, London. Picture: Darren Bell
The House of Mirrors and Hearts continues at the Arcola Theatre, London until 1 August.
Star rating: 4 stars ★ ★ ★ ★
Eamonn O’Dwyer and Rob Gilbert’s new musical theatre drama focuses on a tortured, dysfunctional family living in a ‘house of mirrors’ – where lies and illusion separate the family.
Perfect Pitch, a company which excels in developing new musical theatre pieces with real depth and potential, discovered O’Dwyer’s piece during an open submission process in 2011. Following detailed work on the show which has been taking place during the last few years, The House of Mirrors and Hearts now captures familiar themes at the heart of musical theatre, such as conflict and self-discovery, but enhances this by thriving on Shakespearean tragedy and Victorian melodrama. (The piece is produced by Perfect Pitch, along with another champion of new writing, Katy Lipson for Aria Entertainment).
The plot revolves around the life of Anna – formerly a happy mother of two angelic daughters – and now an unpredictable drunk who clutches a bottle of red wine and a bottle opener at all costs. Her husband (Graham Bickley) has died, but who is to blame?
The mystery of Anna’s husband’s death drives the narrative and gives Gillian Kirkpatrick the platform to showcase the complexity of the central character. It would be easy to portray Anna as an unsympathetic ‘wicked mother’ caricature, but writers O’Dwyer and Gilbert avoid this via the punchy dialogue that they give the character, especially during the interactions with her attention-seeking 15-year-old daughter Lily (Molly McGuire), part drinking buddy/part lost child.
O’Dwyer’s songs also add depth. Kirkpatrick performs the light-hearted ‘Freehand/Quicksilver’ confidently and makes use of the intimacy of the in-the-thrust staging; whereas ‘Secret and Lies” is a strong ensemble piece which marks a change in pace and showcases the vocal talent of the entire cast as the key changes and rises to a crescendo.
Ella Doherty and Charlotte Pourret Wythe establish a believable stage dynamic as squabbling siblings, the young Laura and Lily; while Jamie Muscato (Nathan) and Grace Rowe (the adult Laura) are subtle in their portrayal of the sweet romantics.
The House of Mirrors and Hearts is a compelling piece of musical theatre which benefits from sharp writing, visceral music and layers of tragedy: a credit to contemporary music theatre.
Rebecca Gordon
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