Elegy: after-party photos, Radio 4 discussion and first reviews of Zoë's 'electric' performance

28 April 2016 12:19

Following yesterday's opening night performance of Elegy, Zoë was photographed at the after-party with her co-stars Barbara Flynn and Nina Sosanya, the play's writer Nick Payne, director Josie Rourke – and her trademark drink, the Wanamaker Martini!

'The wonderful thing about [Elegy] is it poses the question constantly – do we have control over ourselves and at what cost and why?' Zoë emphasised when speaking to the Evening Standard about the play's interest in medical advances and the mind's mysteries.

The first reviews of Elegy have now been published. The highlights below suggest that critics have been struck by the power of this play, in which Zoë's Lorna loses all memory of the love of her life, Carrie, as a result of neurosurgery to cure a degenerative disease.

'Zoë Wanamaker is superb as Lorna, in the way she captures the rage and frustration that are inevitable byproducts of her condition, but also the wit and mischief that made Carrie love her in the first place' (Michael Billington, Guardian)

'Zoë Wanamaker excels as the protagonist, both in the confusing period when Lorna knows that she is losing her mind and when dealing with the inevitable but truly terrifying outcome of the medical procedure' (Philip Fisher, British Theatre Guide)

'Wanamaker is especially good, with her sardonic, flamboyant rage against the dying of the light', in 'a beautiful production of a provocative play' (Andrzej Lukowski, Time Out)

Elegy is a 'brief, brilliant, alarming piece' of theatre, 'with Wanamaker – as ever a packet of electric energy – terrifying in bursts of anguished aggression' (Libby Purves, theatreCat)

'Elegy is a beautiful, terrifying, devastating and provocative triumph of the mind', in which Zoë and Barbara Flynn are 'incredible' as a troubled couple (Charlotte Marshall, Official London Theaatre)

'We are invited into a bond that's warm, playful and endlessly human, radiantly brought to life by Wanamaker and Flynn' (Lucy Brooks, Culture Whisper)

This 'intricate three-hander' offers 'a moving, tender' portrayal of the impact that illness and treatment have on the relationship between Lorna and her wife Carrie (Natasha Tripney, The Stage)

Elegy is 'most beautifully acted'; Lorna is 'convincingly confused, movingly resolute' (Sarah Crompton, Whatsonstage.com)

Clips from Elegy (including neurosurgeon Miriam baffling Lorna with thoughts on whether love exists or not) can be heard during the 26 April edition of BBC Radio 4's Front Row, in addition to a thought-provoking interview with Payne and Rourke.

In Rourke's words, Elegy is 'a new play that functions like a tragedy', suffused with tragic inevitability. Lorna and Carrie must decide whether or not to proceed with a major operation that is Lorna's only hope of survival, and so 'in a way the choice is no choice; it's really about consequence' and 'what the cost of love is'.

Elegy runs until 18 June at London's Donmar Warehouse. £10 tickets for front row seats are being released on Monday mornings, with a very, very small number of other tickets also available.

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