The Welkin
Closed 2h 50m
The Welkin
64%
64%
(4 Ratings)
Positive
25%
Mixed
50%
Negative
25%
Members say
Resonant, Verbose, Absorbing, Long, Ambitious

About the Show

Lucy Kirkwood's courtroom drama in which twelve matrons are called on to decide one women's fate.

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Critic Reviews (9)

London Theatre
January 27th, 2020

Some plays are easier to admire than to actually enjoy...it's a play of fierce ambition but muddled execution...And yet I was also constantly compelled, at least, by the superb ensemble cast.'
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The Stage (UK)
January 23rd, 2020

While the first half is beautifully calibrated, tight as a high wire, things slacken a bit in the second half...this audacious play’s strength lies in the richly textured picture it paints of these women and their lives...'
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Time Out London
February 7th, 2020

The play is relentlessly interesting, but for me it’s the dependence on melodramatic reveals to advance the plot that ultimately sinks ‘The Welkin’ a bit...there’s a magnificence in its muddle.'
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The London Evening Standard
January 23rd, 2020

There is something mechanical in the way Kirkwood works in references to unwise steaming of the female anatomy, or the endless rivalry of midwives and doctors … I just loved the sheer, gutsy audacity of it all.
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WhatsOnStage
January 23rd, 2020

The life of the play lies in the vividness of the portrait it paints...it is a brilliant, brave, bold and intelligent three hours in the theatre...often very funny yet at the close, profoundly moving.'
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The Times (UK)
January 23rd, 2020

Lucy Kirkwood’s play... has the makings of a taut psychological study. Yet inflated to three hours, the piece sprawls endlessly and drifts towards a melodramatic conclusion.'
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The Guardian (UK)
January 23rd, 2020

It is, above all, a cerebral play that does not require us to walk in these women’s shoes nor empathise with them...This makes it arduous and even slightly sterile to watch at times but also profoundly admirable.'
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The Telegraph (UK)
January 23rd, 2020

The panoply of distinctive female voices is a joy. The final 20 minutes find a power and coherence previously lacking. But...much like childbirth, I was relieved when it was finally over.'
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Trailer

Creative team