WE HAD A WORLD  - HAMPSTEAD THEATRE DOWNSTAIRS

Writer - Joshua Harmon
Director – Joshua Seymour
Set and Costume Designer – Sarah Beaton
Lighting Designer – Joshua Gadsby
Sound Designer – Lex Konsanke
Movement Director – Ingrid Mackinnon
Fight Director – Bethan Clark
Dialect Coach – Aundrea Fudge
Voice Coach – Tess Dignan
Assistant Director – Josh Stainer
Production Manager – Sean Laing
Costume Supervisor – Abigail Caywood
Stage Manager – Gabi Coomber
Photographer – Marc Brenner

"Sarah Beaton’s gallery design is strikingly simple yet deeply attuned to the text, teasing out the shade of green Renee mentions and realising the climate crisis through a perfectly judged modern art installation." - Spy in the Stalls

"A masterclass in how less is more, the minimal stage design – a chunk of ice, a vermilion painted backdrop, simple wooden seating and a handful of props- combine with subtle lighting to great effect." - Jewish Review

"One of the most effective visual ideas in the production is this piece of cut ice on stage, which slowly melts throughout the play. It suggests time passing, emotions thawing, and buried truths gradually being exposed. At one point, one of the characters talks about climate denial, which feels particularly apt for her. The melting ice becomes both a literal image and a quiet metaphor for the characters’ refusal, or inability, to confront what is happening directly in front of them." - Substack

"It is a fairly sparse stage, save for a couple of chairs and minimal props. However, one striking detail is a block of ice that sits on stage the whole time, gradually melting as the story unfolds. A clever metaphor that works on multiple levels, with the sense of time running out, the race to get to the truth of the story in We Had A World, and is referenced with repeated nods to climate change. In a relatively minimalist production, this focal point is a clever touch " - All that dazzles

"The action unfolds on Sarah Beaton’s deceptively simple set, furnished with little more than a handful of mismatched pieces of furniture and a block of ice (keep an eye on that — it becomes almost a character in its own right)." - Londontheatre1

"Sarah Beaton’s Design is minimal, modern and almost imperceptible, like one of the New York galleries frequented by Rennee and her awestruck grandchild." - North West End