Review: BLUETS, Royal Court Theatre

Photo credit: Camilla Greenwell

Legendary theatre director and darling of the Royal Court Katie Mitchell makes a triumphant return to London’s engine room for new writing with Margaret Perry’s Bluets, adapted for stage from the book by acclaimed author Maggie Nelson. Adding to this roster of talent is a star-studded trio of actors made up of Ben Whishaw, Emma D’Arcy and Kayla Meikle, who perform in synchronicity and rippling canon the role of the person obsessed with the colour blue and all its associations.

This production forms part of Artistic Director David Byrne’s inaugural season at the theatre, which highlights what the Court has long been heralded for - showcasing exciting new writing talent. And this is an exciting show.

Mitchell’s production incorporates live film and video content to create an elegant form of live cinema that marks a radical evolution from the hybrid use of live filming onstage in recent years.

Cameras are used to draw the audience’s focus into minute details - veins of blue through a fragment of rock, a tumbler of Maker’s Mark, intense closeups of the actors’ faces. Mitchell’s live cinema ramps up the sensuality and intimacy of this piece which explores heartbreak, depression, loneliness and love against a wash of blue.

Nelson’s text taps into a cultural fascination with the colour blue - interspersing extracts from work by Joni Mitchell and Derek Jarman amongst others. This is an intelligent and esoteric work but it’s intertextuality never precludes the depth of feeling and the personality of the production.

The cast work together like clockwork. And it helps that they all look great in blue. The trio tread the right balance between indulgent wistfulness and moments of self-aware levity.

Grant Gee’s innovative video design combines seamlessly with Anthony Doran’s lighting to create the lynchpin that ties together the world of stage and screen - transporting the cast before our very eyes into cinematic vision.

The stage management team deserve a standing ovation of their own for their fluid and flawless conducting of literal trays of props and a litany of transitions.

Maggie Nelson’s Bluets at the Royal Court is like nothing else you will ever see. A lyrical, new wave elegy to love and loss. Unmissable.

***** Five stars

Reviewed by: Livvy Perrett

Bluets plays at the Royal Court Theatre until 29 June, with further info here.