BIRD GROVE - HAMPSTEAD THEATRE

Writer – Alexi Kaye Campbell
Director – Anna Ledwich
Designer - Sarah Beaton
Movement Director – Chi-San Howard
Lighting Designer – Matt Haskins
Sound Designer and Composition - Harry Blake
Costume Supervisor– Chantal Short

“The remarkable set design by Sarah Beaton was striking, and notably symbolic of Mary Ann’s situation. The giant, uncanny window at the back of the stage loomed over the rest of the set and was often used as a theatrical tool in the play's more dramatic moments. There is an excellent moment when a blizzard physically comes through the stage at the end of Act One, punctuating the mounting tension and emotional storm ahead. ” – Theatre and Tonic

“It all takes place in the Evans’ Georgian household which is a pale blue wood-panelled space, designed by Sarah Beaton, on which several wall-less rooms (parlour, kitchen, study) revolve with each switching scene. It mixes drawing-room naturalism with something more interestingly abstract.” – The Guardian

“Sarah Beaton’s design appears, at first, a little drab though very clean. A high-ceilinged manor house, all in grey, bar the wooden furniture and the books on the shelf. But what makes it eventually spectacular is the floor to ceiling window at the back of the stage, which, at some point in the first half shows snow falling, beautifully lit by Matt Haskins. These days it could easily have been a digital screen, but Beaton has chosen something simpler and far more poetic. And when, at the end of the first act, the window blows open, and the blizzard comes whipping through, it’s all the more spectacular.” – What's on Stage

“It’s a handsome production with a tasteful set by Sarah Beaton that recalls the melancholy interiors of Vilhelm Hammershøi and includes the lovely sight of snow falling from a vast window." – The Reviews Hub

“Anna Ledwich’s assured production unfolds on Sarah Beaton’s revolving stage. The elegance of the set is enhanced by Matt Haskins’s evocative lighting, with snow falling behind, and then through, a huge window to startling effect.” – Islington Tribune