The Moment of Truth review by Milo

Southwark Playhouse is the venue, playing host to ‘The Moment of Truth,’ a rather intimate and warm setting, and you could immediately gauge upon entering the theatre, that the actors would be just feet away from the audience, making it just that much more personal, and also the chance to really show what they can do.

The premise of the story; “A republic is poised to fall. The only remaining members of an unpopular government are its cynical Prime Minister and a naïve, emotional Foreign Secretary. The invading army has its boots upon the soil of this crumbling nation. Inside the cabinet office, toy soldiers and old icons of military glory veil the realities of war and bloodshed. Death, in a moment of truth was never so real.”

Bonnie Wright, in her debut play, takes on the character of the Colonel's daughter; she has herself thirteen names, which she recounts in splendid fashion. The Colonel as mentioned in the premise is an “old icon of military glory” and is brought in to try and help the government in their stage of bargaining with their conquerors, yet he is presented as a senile war vet, who is aided by his nurse. Bonnie’s character, is that of a lost and troubled young woman, her husband has defected to the opposing side, who eventually invade. She proclaims her love to him, tears streaming down her face, but he doesn't respond to her, instead opting to serve his country. Her emotions are once again swayed, she pleads with the remaining members of the government not to bring her father into it, all the while, her father the Colonel, can’t even bring himself to look at her, or acknowledge her as his daughter.

As I mentioned, the venue is very intimate, and it provides a great chance for the actors to show what they can really do, and they didn’t disappoint. From the moment Bonnie appeared, her presence was felt, she stood out amongst a cast of mainly strong men with booming voices. She held nothing back, and allowed herself to become the character, and you could really see it. A much more mature actress now, she still brought the quality of youth with her, a combination I believe will see her do extremely well in any future acting endeavours.

The climax of the show saw the Colonel, played fantastically by Rodney Bewes, and his daughter, (Bonnie) battle it out in a fight of emotions and despair, with the Colonel seemingly beyond help, and his daughter at wit’s end, having gone through such traumas of war. The tables turn, and the daughter succumbs, Bonnie's performance is beautiful, and we are left with an image that echoes the theme of the whole play, “Death, in a moment of truth was never so real.”