Review Theatre: Letting in Air | Old red Lion | Lowry landscapes | Edmund kente

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The Review - THEATRE by JOSH LOEB
Published: 12 November 2009

Breath of fresh air from North

LETTING IN AIR
Old Red Lion

GOOD old Manchester. It may rain more up there, but it’s true what they say; the people are friendlier.
This drama, by aptly named Becky Prestwich, is set in the capital of the North, and while some might say its values are as oldfashioned as Lowry’s landscapes, I found its uncynical approach refreshing.
Old dodderer Frank (Edmund Kente) is a retired teacher – a noble, gentleman whose troubled wife recently committed suicide (anxious, we discover, because of dark secrets). Frank’s son, Adam (Ryan Hawley, pictured) is an angry young man on a warpath, and he flies off the handle after Amy (Rebecca Elliot on top form) – a curious, somewhat Aspergic girl from the wrong side of the tracks – enters Frank’s life.
That most plays these days seem more concerned with attacking things than with providing moral examples makes Letting in Air, with its humane message, a thing of rare beauty, and this high quality production deserves a wide viewing.
Attention above-a-pub theatres: more of you should stage plays like this. Attention London playwrights: on the basis of Ms Prestwich’s writing, a lot of you could learn a thing or two from our friends in the North.
A very satisfying night at the theatre and highly recommended.
Until November 28
020 7837 7816

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