Hilarious comedy, performed by three great powerful, strong actors bringing 1940s New York to London.
The Voice of the Turtle, written by John Van Druten, follows the journey of two strangers Sally Middleton and Bill Page forced into confinement at first due to bad weathers conditions. The bad weather only lasted one night their romantic stay lasted for three. This play was set in 1943 New York.
The costumes in this play were great and fit the time period really well. From the day-to-day house wear to the lavish going out dinner dresses, the clothing was really well styled. The costumes matched each character’s personality. The set was really fitting with the time. The play was set in a cosy New York apartment. It held a lot of neutral colours with a few pops of colour, translating that the owner of the apartment, Sally Middleton, really wanted to make it feel like a home and was proud of her little apartment.
Imogen Elliot’s Sally Middleton had a lot of depth and layer. On the surface you would think she is such a sweet and innocent woman but she had quite the secrets. Elliot’s portrayal of this character was very interesting, she was continuously peeling back each layer of this character as the play went on. It was nice to see Elliot play around with the different characteristics of Sally Middleton, making strong and bold choices and having Middleton build up so much strength and courage so much so that she is seen to be a completely different person at the end of the play. Watching Elliot’s ability to juggle and convey a lot of conflicting emotions at once was truly impressive. It was great watching the journey arc of this character starting from a shy individual to having so much strength and courage and choosing herself in the end.
Skye Hallam, who played Olive Lashbrooke – friend of Sally Middleton, is an absolute fantastic performer. I loved her larger-than-life portrayal of Olive Lashbrooke, she was fierce, witty and unapologetically bold. Hallam really left her mark and brought such great energy onto the stage. When Olive Lashbrooke re-appeared, she didn’t even have to utter a word and the audience were already in fits of laughter, this was a testament to her having such great stage presence and giving the audience something to remember. Hallam’s comedic timing was unmatched. You could tell how much fun the actor was having and that made her performance even more enjoyable.
Nathan Ives-Moiba, played the charming Bill Page so well. It was lovely to see Bill Page as open, honest and vulnerable, showing so much raw emotion. The moments when Bill Page was confessing his love to Sally Middleton were very touching. Ives-Moiba really took charge of the space. He had an assertiveness about him that contrasted well with his romantic side. His confident nature really complemented Sally Middleton’s gentle side. Elliot and Ives-Moiba bounced off of each other really well, they had great chemistry. Their interactions were both dynamic and sweet.
The soundtrack in this play really helped to transport the audience to the era of which this play is set in. It added a lovely feel-good element to this piece, setting a light-hearted tone. The music was playing softly throughout was a great choice.