Write it down: The Sequel at King's Head Theatre

Production photo

Attending a late-night play during a public transport strike may sound unwise—certainly the choice of a diehard theatre fan, especially since it meant walking London’s streets at midnight to get home. Yet, as I recounted this on Friday to explain my tiredness, I found myself laughing about how funny The Sequel was. Lucas Closs, an emerging writer, fills the play with enough intrigue and absurdity to keep you enthralled—even as you wonder how you’ll get home. It’s currently part of the late show at the King’s Head Theatre.

The premise is that Grace (Nisha Emich) returns to the cafe where she wrote her first book, which became wildly successful. The cafe has become a small museum, or shrine, to her work. It is completed with marzipan figures of the main characters. John (Jim Findley), who was a central character and poet in her book, is now a crusty old tour guide. 


Some years have passed since the novel first appeared, and business isn’t what it used to be. Fewer tourists are making the pilgrimage to see the town and cafe that inspired it. John is trying to inspire Grace to write something new about the area. The current cafe owner, Martha (Julia Pilkington), was not pleased that her mother, who ran the cafe at the time, barely got a mention in the book. Martha insists she never read the book or knew much about the author. She likes how things in the town currently are, with their steady decline. 

This sets the scene for a series of surreal and mysterious reminiscences, leading you to wonder whether the town resents or loves that it has been shaped by a cultural phenomenon. It’s not until the end that you understand what the townspeople were really after. 

This production shares the same stage as In The Print, which covers the lengthy and bitter 1980s print union strike. The set is smeared with what appears to be print ink, adding an extra dystopian dimension to the small rural community once made famous by the writer. You could delve into the themes of what happens when real lives become fiction in the creative process, and when fiction becomes fact. But it’s the performances and comic timing that make this one a winner. 

Directed by Imy Wyatt Corner, The Sequel continues at the King’s Head Theatre until 2 May. It’s a non-too-serious take on the impact of culture. 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


Production photos by Steve Gregson

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