A Mirror – Trafalgar Theatre, London

Writer: Sam Holcroft

Director: Jeremy Herrin

Leyla and Joel are about to be wed – the guests have arrived, floral arrangements and romantic lighting fill the room and a cellist is playing in the background. A perfect ceremony for a perfect union – at least, that’s what they want you to think. In reality, this isn’t a wedding at all and that’s not even their real names – but whatever you do, don’t let The Ministry find out.

The real reason for the gathering is to perform a controversial play that has been flagged by the Department of Culture for over 100 different infringements. A play so defying that they would all be sent to the camps if anyone from the regime knew they were performing it, which is why they’ve had to go to such elaborate lengths of hosting a sham wedding to throw officials off the scent. Adem (Samuel Adewunmi) and Čelik (Jonny Lee Miller) are desperate for the story to be told, to help shine a light on what is really happening in the world, other than the approved generically watered-down and censored performances that are allowed to be staged.

This play within a play is littered with twists and intricacies, brilliantly leading the audience down one pathway before abruptly hurtling them in a different direction. on the lines of 1984 meets Inception – definitely a show you need to bring full concentration to. The cast is fantastic – Tanya Reynolds (Mei) has wonderful comedic timing within her script-reading scenes and Geoffrey Streatfield (Bax) fantastically portrays the disheartened writer who can’t escape his debut success. Expectedly, Jonny Lee Miller is incredible in the lead role, charming yet calculated. he expertly knows when to both go big, as well as keep it intimate. Samuel Adewunmi is faultless, confidently portraying the naive young writer and strongly championing his plight to be heard. Cellist Miriam Wakeling is at the heart of the tension with her on-stage cello playing, creating a beautifully haunting atmosphere that helps keeps the unsettling feeling bubbling at the surface throughout.

Running at two hours long, the lack of an interval does cause a lot of uncomfortable seat shifting halfway through, and there is audible joy in the audience when told to ‘please rise’ for one scene in the latter half of the show at the prospect of finally getting to stretch your legs a bit. Although there is argument that a break in the show would lose some of the built momentum, there is also the argument that it would help reinvigorate the audience, as otherwise, some scenes start to become a bit of a slog to get through.

Overall, this is an interesting production led by a great cast, the various twists are slightly predictable at points but they by no means detract from the enjoyment of the reveals when they occur. The overall themes of censorship and corrupt governments are fantastic, although it would be great to see a few more boundaries pushed to really go outside of the box to shock the audience.

Runs until 20 April 2024