ED2015 2/5 Reviews ED2015 Theatre Reviews

Flight Lessons

By Rebecca Jacobson | Published on Tuesday 25 August 2015

The makeshift stage is a balmy, nearly airless hotel room, but the conditions are fitting: the two main settings in ‘Flight Lessons’ are a long-haul flight from London to Johannesburg, and a dusty Afrikaans town somewhere in the veld. Written by South African playwright Amy Jephta and performed by Saria Steyl, it’s a show about friendship, leaving home, and the interminable quest to construct (and reconstruct) our sense of self. Steyl inhabits the roles of two childhood friends: former top student Maya, who’s lived in London for nine years, and bad-girl Anika, who’s just attempted suicide – the event that sends Maya back home. Steyl has energy to spare, but the cliché-hampered script lacks freshness – which is to say nothing of the schmaltzy piano music soundtracking the more poignant moments.

theSpace @ Jury’s Inn, until 22 Aug.
tw rating 2/5 | [Rebecca Jacobson]