More praise for Zoë's 'heartbreakingly good' performance in Elegy, plus set design insights

1 May 2016 01:05

Following Elegy's opening night at London's Donmar Warehouse, on 27 April, Zoë's performance in this compelling play about love, loss and identity has continued to win praise from reviewers.

'Zoe Wanamaker is fantastic as the woman faced with dying or living without her memory' (Ann Treneman, The Times)

'Captivating Zoë Wanamaker, going from wild to comical in her inside-out dressing gown, shows glimmers of what she was as she looks towards a blanker, healthy future.' (Susannah Clap, Observer)

'Wanamaker superbly suggests the element of fear in [Lorna's] guardedness', and Elegy is a 'superlatively acted and immaculately well-judged production' (Paul Taylor, Independent)

'Zoë Wanamaker is stunning: degenerating and struggling before our eyes without ever descending into cliché or sentimentality, her fidgeting body language and dogged grip on life utterly heart-breaking' (Rebecca Coates, Plays to See)

'Zoe Wanamaker is especially superb, expressing the sadness, mania and confusion of a woman losing her mind, while still presenting a funny and loveable character beneath the condition' (Steve Hogarty, City A.M.)

'Zoë Wanamaker is wonderful [as Lorna]', and 'Elegy poses intelligent questions and rewards the audience with great performances' (Mersa Auda, The Upcoming)

'Zoë Wanamaker convincingly conveys Lorna's confusion, fear and anger as she battles to retain her sense of self, while Barbara Flynn also impresses as the caring but conflicted Carrie' (Neil Dowden, Londonist)

'Director Josie O’Rourke's unfussy production – she's careful not to overwhelm Payne's text – is blessed with super performances. Zoe Wanamaker and Barbara Flynn are heartbreakingly good, and there's a nice turn from Nina Sosanya as Miriam' (Tony Peters, Radio Times)

'[Elegy] is a mournful, minor-key delight: rich, still and ruminative' (Matt Trueman, Variety)

Elegy has 'an all-female cast which is enhancing the material it is performing no end' (Neil Durham, monstagigz)

In a fascinating article published by Whatsonstage.com, Tom Scutt (who co-designed the production with Rosie ElNile) reveals how Elegy's set was inspired by 'the tension between togetherness and separation' at the heart of Lorna and Carrie's relationship.

The set, with its rows of chairs, recalls hospitals, churches and schools (all institutions that assume importance in the characters' lives). The set overall is 'a transitional ''non-place''', Scutt adds, reflecting Lorna and Carrie's feelings of insecurity and uncertainty.

In addition, Whatsonstage.com's most recent 'week in pictures' feature includes a photo of Zoë with her Elegy co-stars Barbara Flynn and Nina Sosanya at the opening night after-party.

Performances of Elegy are scheduled until 18 June. The Donmar is releasing £10 tickets for front row seats on Monday mornings, with a very, very small number of other tickets also available.

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