THE SHALLOW END @ SOUTHWARK PLAYHOUSE

‘The only thing I stand for is the National Anthem…’ a permanent reminder of the lengths and breadths the faceless, corporate machine we call the media is willing to go to bring in the readers. In a world of patriarchal domination, politics and powerful persuasion, the Shallow End serves as a fly on a wall portrayal of the shenanigans and goings on of a very successful newspaper…

Can business and pleasure work together? or are they diametrically opposite? Amidst the wedding celebrations of a business mogul’s daughter, who will be next on the firing line?Doug Lucie successfully shines a light on the media hierarchy, placing a close eye on the naivety of the budding university graduates to the callousness of the big bosses. With the big bosses mindlessly swaying with the political trends, to the Guy Fawkes’s who are willing to go fight against conformity and speak up for the masses facing the axe, is there any hope? From the forever-fickle portrayal of the Editor, to the composed yet comic characterisation of one of the correspondents facing the chop, this rich platter of characters serves for a comedic feast. Thecolonial country house setting serves as the ultimate trophy, the epitome of the dog eat dog world these characters live in. For me, it took a while to escape into this satirical world, but I can safely say that the performance picked up momentum. Although written and first performed in the 90s, it most certainly draws parallels to today’s 17-year high unemployment rate. This play is of an adult nature as it is pretty graphic. All in all I will give it a 7 out of 10.

Written by Theatrefullstop