Northern play heads South

Aldwych Theatre

A fringe success from the North East has opened in the West End. Among the handful of reviews, three gave it two stars but its rating was balanced by a 5 and a 4 star review. The latter liked the humour and the portrayal of working class life in Gateshead; the low scorers found it unable to make its mind up whether it was a comedy or a tragedy. Jamie Eastwood’s play stars Dean Logan and Jack Robertson in the title roles.

[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]

5 stars ★★★★★

Amber-Rae Stobbins, a native of Newcastle, popped up at BroadwayWorld to hand out full marks: ‘Jamie Eastlake’s brilliantly witty and raw play is just as upfront and vulnerable as the real-life people it is about’. She gave all the cast high praise including Logan: ‘Every word he says catches the audience and holds them, all while never missing a beat.’ And ‘Robertson’s comedic timing is unmatched, all while never dropping the beat. Moments of fourth-wall-breaking humour really connect his performance with the audience in a way that can only be put simply as ‘masterful’. And Clayburn: ‘Her ability to effortlessly contrast her characters through voice and physicality made her performance a joy to watch. Clayburn humanises characters that society often doesn’t – a marvel to see.’ And the ‘incredible singing voice of Halfpenny: ‘She represented those of us who left Newcastle to move to London for the sake of our art beautifully, and I couldn’t ask for more from her for that.’

4 stars ★★★★

The Independent’s Alice Saville had reservations: ‘It’s hard to get the genre’s balance of harrowing realism and crude joys right on stage. And as funny as this show’s offbeat animal puppets and showboating song-and-dance moments are, they sit weirdly alongside the story’s nihilistic trajectory.’ Nevertheless, ‘what Jamie Eastlake’s production really does nail is the humour. It’s hilarious from start to finish, providing you don’t gag at toilet jokes. And it’s also constantly, wittily self-aware of all the tensions of telling a story of poverty and deprivation in front of a middle-class audience’.

3 stars ★★★

The Stage’s Sam Marlowe said: ‘It’s frustratingly scattershot, and just about hangs together thanks to the sheer energy of its execution. But you can’t help wishing Eastlake would tighten the focus on Logan’s wiry, buoyant yet sensitive Gerry and Robertson’s food-obsessed, wise-cracking, clumsy and kindly Sewell.’

2 stars ★★

The Times’ Clive Davis was disparaging: ‘In an intimate community centre, it might just have worked; under the proscenium arch, it has all the allure of watching a bad Sunday League game on a quagmire of a pitch.’

’it’s less of a play than a hectic series of sketches that’s hard to take seriously as a comedy or a tragedy’ said LondonTheatre’s Julia Rank.

The Guardian’s Arifa Akbar noted: ‘the script as a whole is messy and incohesive, its various parts pulling away from each other (…) The season ticket storyline is beached by the end and some basic plotlines remain fuzzy.’ She conceded: ‘Still, there are sparks of brilliance and much potential – as well as a ton of heart and soul.’

Critics’ average rating 3.0★

Gerry & Sewell can be seen at the Aldwych Theatre, London, until 24 January 2026. Tickets from nederlander.co.uk

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