Review: Labour of Love

Hey readers!
It's time for my review of Labour of Love.
With my love and interest of politics, Labour of Love seemed to be the ideal choice when deciding which show to see. With it being the school half term, I was able to get £10 day seats for the Wednesday matinee.

Labour of Love follows the story of a Labour MP and his constituency agent throughout a 27 year period. Labour MP David Lyons cares about modernisation and “electability”… his constituency agent, Jean Whittaker cares about principles and her community. Set away from the Westminster bubble in the party’s traditional northern heartlands, this is a clash of philosophy, culture and class against the backdrop of the Labour Party over 27 years as it moves from Kinnock through Blair into Corbyn… and beyond? The storyline was very interesting to follow and it did a fantastic job of educating its audience as to what the past 27 years have looked like in the eyes of those working in politics. Labour of Love is written by James Graham, who has written other politics themed plays such as 'This House', which played in the West End earlier this year. I really liked 'This House' and I am pleased to see that Graham's writing is consistent.

Labour of Love had an exceptional cast of very talented actors, led by Martin Freeman and Tamsin Greig. Martin Freeman gave a nuanced and subtle performance as David Lyons, which resulted in the character being both relatable and likeable. In the role of Jean Whittaker, Tamsin Greig could do no wrong with her performance. With the show constantly transitioning to show different periods of time, Tamsin showed a wide range of versatility, subtly changing her character every time to show how Jean Whittaker has progressed as a character throughout the 27 years. In addition to this, she excelled in all aspects of the play, being great at doing both the serious and the comedic parts of the play. The remainder of the cast consists of Rachael Stirling as Elizabeth Lyons, Kwong Loke as Mr. Shen, Dickon Terrell as Len Prior and Susan Wokoma as Margot Midler. They all left large impressions and they all had good and clear characterisations.

The director of Labour of Love, Jeremy Herrin, has the difficult task of finding a way to help the audience to understand that the characters are, at first, going back to the past, and then, back to the present. However, I thought it was handled very well and I personally found it to be very clear as to what has happening. The set design, created by Lee Newby, was extremely clever, showing different campaign posters and merchandise for every different time period.

In conclusion, Labour of Love exceeded all my expectations. It was a brilliant play and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

The featured star of Labour of Love is, drum roll please... TAMSIN GREIG!

Tamsin Greig's performance of Jean Whittaker was absolutely outstanding. Despite not even being originally cast for the role, she seemed so well suited for it, as if it had been written just for her. Tamsin perfected everything possible in this performance.

Now for my final verdict on Labour of Love. I give Labour of Love...

Labour of Love was an easy 4 star decision for me. It was a thoroughly enjoyable 2 hours and 45 minutes and the time flew by!

Think it should have got a higher rating? Agree with my rating? Think it should have got a lower rating? If so comment below.

Thanks for reading!

-The Reviewer