Review of ‘The Sewing Group’ by E V Crowe at the Royal Court Theatre.
Another morality tale using quilts to demonstrate the simple homespun values of years long ago against the aggressive corporate behaviour of the twenty first century. It was similar in its approach to the recent play ‘Oil’ at the Almeida, which placed the traditional labourers against the modern global oil producing companies. However the means of production were quite different.
It started with the introduction of a new female to a sewing group set in a wooden cabin in rural England before the industrial revolution. Very little contact is made between the silent sewers but each burst of conversation is followed by complete blackout with loud jarring music blaring out. This blackout scene was repeated many times for the first thirty minutes of the play, which I found very irritating. I was happier when the action progressed and the ‘new’ member of the group found her voice and started asserting her authority.
But of course, it was not all what it seemed. The words ‘gluten free’ rang out, seemingly out of place in the world of 1700 but transporting the audience back to the world we live in. The sewing activity moved from stitching samplers to quilts with the new member explaining how cutting up a dead husband’s clothes to make a quilt to wrap around the widow would be a source of comfort to her.
And so the play moved on with the newcomer seemingly able to live in both worlds, the old male dominated restricted one as well as the new restless free world. More questions were raised than answered as one would expect but the production somehow lacked depth and inspiration to make much impact.
Sue Hart
Another morality tale using quilts to demonstrate the simple homespun values of years long ago against the aggressive corporate behaviour of the twenty first century. It was similar in its approach to the recent play ‘Oil’ at the Almeida, which placed the traditional labourers against the modern global oil producing companies. However the means of production were quite different.
It started with the introduction of a new female to a sewing group set in a wooden cabin in rural England before the industrial revolution. Very little contact is made between the silent sewers but each burst of conversation is followed by complete blackout with loud jarring music blaring out. This blackout scene was repeated many times for the first thirty minutes of the play, which I found very irritating. I was happier when the action progressed and the ‘new’ member of the group found her voice and started asserting her authority.
But of course, it was not all what it seemed. The words ‘gluten free’ rang out, seemingly out of place in the world of 1700 but transporting the audience back to the world we live in. The sewing activity moved from stitching samplers to quilts with the new member explaining how cutting up a dead husband’s clothes to make a quilt to wrap around the widow would be a source of comfort to her.
And so the play moved on with the newcomer seemingly able to live in both worlds, the old male dominated restricted one as well as the new restless free world. More questions were raised than answered as one would expect but the production somehow lacked depth and inspiration to make much impact.
Sue Hart
