The Language of Kindness @ The Shoreditch Town Hall Review

Offering an opportunity to reflect post Covid, The Language of Kindness celebrates the resilience of healthcare professionals within the NHS, a facet within our society brought more so to the forefront due to the events of the past year and rightly so.

An adaptation of Christie Watson‘s acclaimed novel, The Language of Kindness is an apt piece of theatre to celebrate the re-opening of live theatre spaces once more. Various anecdotes of patient care highlighting the unpredictability of the day to day, a constant reminder of the complex, multi-faceted fabric of humanity. Sasha Milavic Davies and James Yeatman direct a vibrant, uplifting piece – Davies’ movement direction a key feature of the evening conveying the mood and emotions felt by both the healthcare professionals and patients.

Hayley Egan‘s video design brilliantly captures the piece’s vibrant tone, visuals of real life NHS healthcare professionals to bold typography signalling the beginnings of new scenarios, Zoe Hurwitz‘s generic hospital cubicles upstage centring the production within a clinical setting. A TV screen projecting various images, to a care home setting taking the audience away from the generic clinical world, presenting other various perspectives.

Tina Chiang, Etta Fusi, Rina Fatania, Keziah Joseph, Clive Mendus and Janet Etuk root us all within their world as medics, they’re warmth and strength an integral part of the evening. We’re presented with the impact of the long hours and unpredictable scenarios on mental health and well-being, we get to witness the humanity of the NHS workforce from their perspective and that’s important to see. This is my first show post lockdown and I’m left inspired!

Review written by Lucy Basaba.

The Language of Kindness is currently showing until Saturday 12th June 2021 at the Shoreditch Town Hall. To find out more about the show, visit here…

Written by Theatrefullstop