April De Angelis’ Jumpy at the Duke of York’s Theatre by Huntley Dent

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Tamsin Greig and Bel Powley in the original Royal Court production (2011). Photo by Robert Workman.


Jumpy
By April De Angelis
Directed by Nina Raine
Duke of York’s Theatre

Lizzie Clachan – designer
Paul Arditit – sound designer
Peter Mumford – lighting designer

Tamsin Greig (Hilary), Seline Hizli (Lyndsey), Richard Lintern (Roland), Ben Lloyd-Hughes (Cam), Doon Mackichan (Frances), James Musgrave (Josh), Bel Powley (Tilly), Amanda Root (Bea), Ewan Stewart (Mark)

Preggers. A bloke in a certain frame of mind, namely male, might wonder why he is sitting at Jumpy. April De Angelis’ new play, beginning its West End run after a success at the Royal Court, is very witty but also very hen-partyish. When the women in the audience laugh knowingly at a line like, “Is she metal-pausal?” some men might wince. Their eyes are likely to avert when a whoop goes up at the sight of a hunky young man entering stage left, starkers, except for modestly covering himself down there. This isn’t gender neutral comedy, and the territory it covers — the generation gap between a middle-aged mother and her mouthy sixteen-year-old daughter — has a case of galloping cliche.

Read the full review on the Berkshire Review, an international journal for the arts!