REVIEW: THIS DIVINE EXISTENCE by Megan Toogood at King’s Head Theatre 22 – 26 November 2022

‘Intriguing play with potential for further development’ ★★★ ½

The King’s Head theatre has been turned in a hospital with the smell of antiseptic and a realistic hospital bed, all very authentic. Then, there is also the projected image on the back wall giving another dimension to this minimalist set.

This new play by Megan Toogood is inspired by Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein with a social media twist. This is the most exciting part of the story, as much of it concentrates on the surgeon (the creator of the monster) and the people who are to become his cadavers. It features their back stories and how they ended up in hospital. It takes a little while to get around to the importance of social media but when it does, it promotes questions about the people behind their social media profiles, reminding us that it’s easy to make up a social media identity which might not be your own.   

Along the way, we are treated to actor Matty McCabe playing all six characters with differentiations of accent and fine physical theatre. There is humour to be found within the script and audiences could easily relate to the characters, although fascinatingly, everyone responded differently. Personally, I found McCabe’s woman in labour to be so on point (partly thanks to the insightful writing) that I couldn’t help but chortle. Other characters include a shifty geezer and a gay man (falling for the surgeon) but not surprisingly it would be wrong to expect any depth of characterisations. 

The hospital bed could be wheeled around, which gave the director, Amelia Gray, an opportunity to make full use of the black box space. It helped to give the piece plenty of energy with McCabe quickly moving between characters. Occasionally this looked physically awkward, especially in the dialogue, when he jumped from one position to the opposite to portray both roles.   

Whilst it is an intriguing play, I am left wanting more, it just feels as though it’s skimming over the surface of its potential. Running at 65 minutes there is time to develop the social media aspect of the play, fully exploring this element, for today’s audiences.

THIS DIVINE EXISTENCE

22-26 November

Old Kings Head Theatre Pub, 115 Upper St, London N1 1QN

Start time: 20:45 + Friday matinee 4pm

https://kingsheadtheatre.com/whats-on/this-divine-existence  

Running time: 65 minutes

Actor: Matty McCabe

Director: Amelia Gray

Company: Roar Creative Productions

Reviewed by Heather Jeffery, Editor of London Pub Theatres Magazine