Spur of the Moment, Royal Court Theatre Upstairs | reviews, news & interviews
Spur of the Moment, Royal Court Theatre Upstairs
Spur of the Moment, Royal Court Theatre Upstairs
Tuesday, 20 July 2010
Girls just wanna have fun: Shannon Tarbet (second from right) in a scorching stage debutKeith Pattison
"She's just a kid," or so runs the mantra that weaves its way through Spur of the Moment, the Royal Court premiere from newcomer Anya Reiss, who was "just a kid" - well, 17 - when she wrote the play. How, then, to explain an exceedingly sharp, smart piece that will invite comparison with another recent Court find, Polly Stenham, who was a comparative "oldie" by the time she pitched up at Sloane Square? As ever, it's nigh impossible to calibrate talent with numbers of years old, beyond pointing out that Reiss possesses the former in abundance even if she is self-evidently lacking in the latter. As the great Tom Lehrer once remarked, riffing on this very topic: "When Mozart was my age, he'd been dead five years." If this play and the director Jeremy Herrin's customarily expert treatment of it are any indication, Reiss has a long and happy playwriting career ahead.
"She's just a kid," or so runs the mantra that weaves its way through Spur of the Moment, the Royal Court premiere from newcomer Anya Reiss, who was "just a kid" - well, 17 - when she wrote the play. How, then, to explain an exceedingly sharp, smart piece that will invite comparison with another recent Court find, Polly Stenham, who was a comparative "oldie" by the time she pitched up at Sloane Square? As ever, it's nigh impossible to calibrate talent with numbers of years old, beyond pointing out that Reiss possesses the former in abundance even if she is self-evidently lacking in the latter. As the great Tom Lehrer once remarked, riffing on this very topic: "When Mozart was my age, he'd been dead five years." If this play and the director Jeremy Herrin's customarily expert treatment of it are any indication, Reiss has a long and happy playwriting career ahead.
The future of Arts Journalism
You can stop theartsdesk.com closing!
We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £33,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d
And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.
Subscribe to theartsdesk.com
Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.
To take a subscription now simply click here.
And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?
more
Help to give theartsdesk a future!
Support our GoFundMe appeal
EFG London Jazz Festival round-up review - youth, age, and the greatness in between
From Xhosa Cole Monking Around to 87-year-old Kirk Lightsey
First Person: singer-songwriter Sam Amidon on working in Dingle with Teaċ Daṁsa on 'Nobodaddy'
Michael Keegan-Dolan’s mind-boggling total work of art arrives at Sadlers Wells this week
EFG London Jazz Festival 2024 round-up review - from Korean noise to Carnatic soul
A trio of bands and artists blend world music, cinematic grooves and pure noise at the London Jazz Festival
All's Well That Ends Well, Sam Wanamaker Playhouse review - Shakespeare at his least likeable
New production lands on shaky ground in 2024
Album: Alice Ivy - Do What Makes You Happy
Aussie producer's third is half gems and half pap
Rajakesar, Selaocoe, The Hermes Experiment, Wigmore Hall review - a joyful, fascinating laboratory of noise
Celebrating the avant-garde through different cultures
Music Reissues Weekly: Stefan Gnyś - Horizoning
Folk-inclined Canadian’s brooding album emerges 55 years after it was recorded
Wicked review - overly busy if beautifully sung cliffhanger
Musical theatre behemoth becomes an outsized film - and this is just part one
Akram Khan, GIGENIS, Sadler’s Wells review - now 50, Khan returns to his roots
The dancer-choreographer goes epic in a show that unites South Asian dance styles
Snow Leopard review - clunky visual effects mar a director's swansong
Tibetan filmmaker Pema Tseden bows out with a confusing tale of a beautiful predator
King James, Hampstead Theatre review - UK premiere drains a three-pointer
LeBron James comes and goes, and comes back again to the Cavs
Add comment