Review: And Then I'll Sleep (Lion and Unicorn Theatre)

And Then I’ll Sleep is a Working Girls Theatre Company production, written by Tasmin Wickremeratne and directed by Elsie Youngman. There are content warnings for this show as it covers sexual assault, child sexual abuse, and PTSD.  I would also say, if you have emetophobia this is not the show for you.

The show begins in a group therapy session, where there are four people present, but the play focusses on two of them in detail, Lorenza (Lily Walker) and Daffodil (Amelia Khalek). The effect their past traumas have had on their current relationships and way of thinking becomes more apparent as time goes on.

The opening monologue by Lily Walker was delivered impactfully, Lorenza immediately came across as vulnerable and traumatised, evoking empathy right from the start. In contrast, Daffodil has her walls up and presents as quite guarded. This contrast in how people can be affected by trauma in different ways was insightful. The show continues with many different scenes, and the minimal set – Ottoman cubes with lids – was used to depict different situations – chairs in a therapy room, a tube carriage, a park bench, a table in a bar etc.  This was such clever use of minimal amounts of furniture.

Complementing this effective minimal set was something that I feel was a hugely important part of this show, the music and sound effects.  Quite early on it became clear there would be a lot of resetting of the stage, and this was done in blackout.  At times in the past, I have found this tool overbearing, however in this show I had already established in my mind that each of the mini scenes were like individual vignettes.  The blackout helped separate each of them, but the stunning music (by Annie Napier) linked them beautifully. The sound effects for different situations; including a bar, a park and the tube, were also brilliant for scene setting and adding a bit of familiarity and humour in the case of the tube carriage.

Daffodil is in a relationship with Christopher (Filippo Brozzo), a well-intentioned man who seems devoted to her.  Lorenza has her eyes and heart set on emotionally unavailable Peter (Sam Bates). Both “love interest” characters are played very well, Christopher’s frustration at failing to be believed and his affection for Daffodil mean he is in a very emotionally vulnerable position.   And Peter has been honest from the start, he’s not intending to date Lorenza, but what begins as casual fun becomes more complicated. I must mention Grace Marshall-Collins being involved as an Intimacy Coordinator, which is an impressive move for this young theatre company. As a result of having someone in this role, the cast came across as extremely confident and convincing in their on-stage relationships.

Completing the cast are Nadine Chui and Phoebe Ralph, who play a couple of characters each.  Despite their smaller roles, these characters are pivotal to the story and deliver some memorable lines at times too.

All of the above ingredients in this play added up to a show that I was completely gripped by. It’s a valuable lesson in how it’s not just the two people in a relationship that influence their situation, and how trauma can affect you long term. More than that, I enjoyed the fact that the writing and direction didn’t lay out every detail of the characters’ backstories for you. There was just enough detail to leave room for your imagination to fill the gaps during the scene changes and after the show finished.

Fantastic performances all round, and a story that makes you think.

⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

And Then I’ll Sleep is showing at the Lion and Unicorn Theatre until 13^th August as part of Camden Fringe.

I was gifted a ticket for this show in exchange for an honest review.