Buy cheap tickets for Matilda the Musical
Compulsion

Declan Cooke is a physically big guy with a powerful presence: if you saw him standing at the bar you would imagine him to be full of confidence and completely in control of his life. This makes for a disturbing contradiction in his performance as Tom that challenges such presuppositions. Why is his mind not as strong as his body appears? Of course, there is no reason why it should be. Mental disorders are not on the outside but in the recesses of the mind and it’s to those places we are taken on this harrowing journey.

The agonising conversations and painful introspection are unrelenting and despite the animation of individual scenes the play as whole moves slowly.

Tom talks lovingly to Rosita, his Barbie doll, in an early childhood scene. He’s abruptly told that little boys don’t play with dolls and maybe that was where it all started to go wrong. It’s one of a series of incidents that now torture him that unfold painfully on the bare stage. Nigel Fyfe, Kim Maouhoub and Paul Storan give suitably chilling performances as people who have contributed to Tom’s condition and as tormentors of his mind arguing about just how far they can push him. Tom can barely live with the noises in his head but conversely he finds it “too loud when it’s quiet.” He ponders on the thought that maybe he “was wired up all wrong.”

The play is neatly constructed in episodes that flow smoothly from one to the next. Like Job’s comforters characters move effortlessly into out of Tom’s life and mind. Their dialogue, however, is littered with more use of the ‘F’ word than I can ever recall in a play or everyday conversation: so much so that it becomes redundant as a means emphasis and embarrassingly uncomfortable in its excess. The agonising conversations and painful introspection are unrelenting and despite the animation of individual scenes the play as whole moves slowly. It’s an interesting exercise in the exploration of a man struggling with his past and the surfacing of his subconscious, but it does have the feel of being just that.

Reviews by Richard Beck

The Cockpit

Cock

★★★★★
Café Club Míšeňská

The Red Shoes

★★★★
A Studio Rubín

Shylock

★★★★
Divadlo Inspirace

The World of Madness

★★★★
A Studio Rubín

Pip Utton - King Lear

★★★★
Muzeum alchymistů a mágů staré Prahy

The Chai Queens - A Tale of Love & Longing

★★★★

Since you’re here…

… we have a small favour to ask. We don't want your money to support a hack's bar bill at Abattoir, but if you have a pound or two spare, we really encourage you to support a good cause. If this review has either helped you discover a gem or avoid a turkey, consider doing some good that will really make a difference.

You can donate to the charity of your choice, but if you're looking for inspiration, there are three charities we really like.

Mama Biashara
Kate Copstick’s charity, Mama Biashara, works with the poorest and most marginalised people in Kenya. They give grants to set up small, sustainable businesses that bring financial independence and security. That five quid you spend on a large glass of House White? They can save someone’s life with that. And the money for a pair of Air Jordans? Will take four women and their fifteen children away from a man who is raping them and into a new life with a moneymaking business for Mum and happiness for the kids.
Donate to Mama Biashara now

Theatre MAD
The Make A Difference Trust fights HIV & AIDS one stage at a time. Their UK and International grant-making strategy is based on five criteria that raise awareness, educate, and provide care and support for the most vulnerable in society. A host of fundraising events, including Bucket Collections, Late Night Cabarets, West End Eurovision, West End Bares and A West End Christmas continue to raise funds for projects both in the UK and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Donate to Theatre MAD now

Acting For Others
Acting for Others provides financial and emotional support to all theatre workers in times of need through the 14 member charities. During the COVID-19 crisis Acting for Others have raised over £1.7m to support theatre workers affected by the pandemic.
Donate to Acting For Others now

Performances

Location

The Blurb

If you revealed your darkest secrets, what would you discover in the light of exposure? Would there be relief in a secret shared, that you are not alone in concealing what is at the root of who you really are? But what if your mask was wrenched away and your soul laid bare? What would you do? Tom's about to find out. Join him. We Keep You Company return to the Fringe with a compelling reflection on guilt and self-justification.
Buy cheap tickets for Back To The Future
Buy cheap tickets for Matilda the Musical

Most Popular See More

Buy cheap tickets for Matilda
Matilda

From £25.00

More Info

Find Tickets

Buy cheap tickets for Fiddler on the Roof
Fiddler on the Roof

From £31.00

More Info

Find Tickets

Buy cheap tickets for Stranger Things : The First Shadow
Stranger Things : The First Shadow

From £37.00

More Info

Find Tickets

Buy cheap tickets for TINA: The Tina Turner Musical
TINA: The Tina Turner Musical

From £13.00

More Info

Find Tickets

Buy cheap tickets for Starlight Express
Starlight Express

From £36.00

More Info

Find Tickets

Buy cheap tickets for Hamilton
Hamilton

From £25.00

More Info

Find Tickets

Buy cheap tickets for Wicked
Buy cheap tickets for Into The Woods
Buy cheap tickets for Starlight Express
Buy cheap tickets for Spies
Buy cheap tickets for Barmy Britain
Buy cheap tickets for The Producers
Buy cheap tickets for Evita
Buy cheap tickets for Matilda
Buy cheap tickets for Christmas Carol Goes Wrong
Buy cheap West End theatre tickets