This review was originally written for The Reviews Hub: https://www.thereviewshub.com/kindling-park-theatre-london/

When five women, united only in their grief for the loss of a dear friend, descend on a  Welsh forest to fulfil her dying wish, this should be a chance for new friendships to bloom. Yet for five perimenopausal women, this gathering soon goes sour in this chaotic and heartfelt comedy.

Whether the five should meet is something Mei remarks from beyond the grave, and this soon appears to be amusingly perceptive as the quintet, scouring the forest for the place to scatter Mei’s ashes, soon get lost in the Welsh wilderness, soaked by a violent storm, horrified by ghoulish noises in the dark and bemoaning the use of HRT patches.  The five are largely ill-suited to each other, not just the wild, and quickly, much like the similar work by Tim Firth, Neville’s Island, find themselves somewhat at loggerheads.

Sarah Rickman’s (who also performs as Rose) script combines the raw emotions of grief with the utter chaos that ensues when five completely different women are thrown together. It is a piece that nods to the perimenopause and the crossroads that many women find themselves in at this midlife point, in this case, more urgently evoked by Mei’s untimely death. Yet, Rickman’s dialogue does well not to dwell on the changes all five are undergoing. Rickman’s writing spotlights failing marriages, eternal singledom and the pressure on women to have children, but in ways which feel organic and authentic, rather than preachy.

The play mostly moves at a good pace, too, albeit slightly undermined by an unnecessary interval that robs it of some momentum, giving all five characters opportunities to be developed organically as truths are laid bare and relationships form. It is a shame that the interval means the play has to kick into gear again after the break, which takes a little time in a very short second half, although the quintet work well to re-establish the various, fraught dynamics.

It is also desperately funny in places. The absurdity of the comedy contrasts nicely with the bittersweet reasoning why the five are together in the first place. The integration of Mei’s ashes into the humour is an obvious but still effective touch, with Rickman’s writing and Emma Gersch’s direction combining well here to run some silly slapstick comedic moments alongside more serious dialogue. It jars, but in the right way, helping to evoke the play’s focus upon these five women who, at face value, have very little in common.

Gersch’s direction enables the characters to breathe, although they are a little too like caricatures in places. All five represent different parts of Mei’s life, from her earliest childhood to her last job, and while a little obvious in personalities, these work effectively to help establish the obvious points of conflict.

Stacy Abalogun’s stoic Jules provides a nice contrast to the fiery, abrupt Sue (Ciara Pouncett). Meanwhile, ultra-posh Jasmin (pronounced Yasmin) is crafted well by Rendah Beshoori, especially in demonstrating her horror at the thought of camping and as the wilderness terrorises her to great comedic effect. Scarlett Alice Johnson’s hippy Cathy is delightfully flouncy, thrusting breathing exercises and awful cakes on the group and is probably the most entertaining character of the five, while Rickman’s goofy Rose, a little too childlike in places, provides much of the initial chaos. The contrasts between the five are quickly brought to the fore, and while the laughs land, it is the heart-wrenching final ten minutes where the group particularly shines.

Abi Groves’ set, with scattered leaves, bark, mud and tree trunks, throws us quickly into the forest setting, also evoking a muggy aroma of dank, damp, woodland too. It is a neat touch that helps immerse the audience in the theatre’s intimate configuration into these women’s lives.

Despite a few missteps, Kindling more than delivers a poignant and genuinely funny exploration of friendship, grief and connection. Rickman’s script lands several emotional punches by its conclusion, and even though the relationships forged are utterly dysfunctional, the play itself is anything but, and is a stark and emotional reminder of the importance of human connection, particularly for these women at this point in their lives.