Welcome to London Grip, a forum for reviews of books, shows & events – plus quarterly postings of new poetry. Our most recent posts are listed below. Older posts can be explored via the search box and topic list. For more information & guidelines on submitting reviews or poems please visit our Home page.
The Space Theatre, London, and online
Cast: Alia Al-Shabibi, Mia Sumida, Dong-Hyun Lim, Pietro Cannizzaro
Writer: Heejin Kim
Director: Mia Sumida
Running time: approximately 90 minutes
It’s the summer solstice, the sun blazes directly ahead, casting no shadow. The heat is intense. It could almost be now, but writer Heejin Kim instead takes us to a near future where there is no longer any doubt that summers are something to fight rather than enjoy.
Mia Sumida, who also acts, directs an appropriately international cast, speaking multiple languages to drive home the point that this is a global problem.
The action follows the lives of two men and two women, who as school children, witness a fire that razes a village to the ground.
We meet them over successive summers in scenes that depict them maturing into factory workers, managers and environmental activists, debating the merits of mushrooms versus humans and whether to have children to add tonnes of carbon to the atmosphere, making the planet even more unliveable.
The production has the earnestness and sincerity of youth at its best and that all generations ignore at their peril. The brave, principled theatre where it is staged provides an online version, available for two weeks, for anyone with accessibility issues.
Summers,
The Space Theatre, London, and online
Cast: Alia Al-Shabibi, Mia Sumida, Dong-Hyun Lim, Pietro Cannizzaro
Writer: Heejin Kim
Director: Mia Sumida
Running time: approximately 90 minutes
It’s the summer solstice, the sun blazes directly ahead, casting no shadow. The heat is intense. It could almost be now, but writer Heejin Kim instead takes us to a near future where there is no longer any doubt that summers are something to fight rather than enjoy.
Mia Sumida, who also acts, directs an appropriately international cast, speaking multiple languages to drive home the point that this is a global problem.
The action follows the lives of two men and two women, who as school children, witness a fire that razes a village to the ground.
We meet them over successive summers in scenes that depict them maturing into factory workers, managers and environmental activists, debating the merits of mushrooms versus humans and whether to have children to add tonnes of carbon to the atmosphere, making the planet even more unliveable.
The production has the earnestness and sincerity of youth at its best and that all generations ignore at their peril. The brave, principled theatre where it is staged provides an online version, available for two weeks, for anyone with accessibility issues.
Barbara Lewis © 2025.
By Barbara Lewis • plays, theatre, year 2025 • Tags: Barbara Lewis, plays, theatre