hang, Royal Court ***

After running from Cannon Street to Sloane Square in 45 minutes, I was expecting a lot from debbie tucker green's new play at the Royal Court. It is an hour long, intense and provocative production set in a time and place removed from the present day. This is a place where (spoiler alert) capital punishment exists and the victim can choose the criminal's method of death. This dark world is totally unrelatable to me, bar from the attitude of the authority representatives, who are unnamed, who try and fail to deal with the situation of the victim, who is also unnamed. This means that everything bar the final moments of the piece failed to really connect with me. I also feel that the upstairs theatre could help the play reach it's full potential as it has an intimacy that the downstairs theatre can't acheive and can make each movement and action more distinguished and could execute the emotion in the piece more effectively. The actors are all superb, especially Marianne Jean-Baptiste who shows a shaken and harmed individual fighting for justice. Claire Rushbrook and Shane Zaza are good too at showing people who are trying to show compassion and work withing the constraints of their profession. Bausor's design is raw and conveys the sense of bleak isolation well. tucker green's writing too is sharp and well constructed if only it could be relatable to a modern day audience.