Miss Myrtle’s Garden review – immersion into a mindscape of sharp quips and memory slips

Bush theatre, LondonArtistic director Taio Lawson’s Bush debut shows the heartbreaking fallout of a 82-year-old mother whose acid tongue belies her faltering memoryIn Danny James King’s Miss Myrtle’s Garden, life and death coexist. Acid-tongued Myrtle spends her days in her overgrown yard with her husband, Melrose, grandson, Rudy, and Rudy’s “close friend” Jason. But around the patch of grass, memories seep into the present through ghosts and flickering flashes, in a jumble of certainty and doubt.That’s because, at 82, Myrtle has begun to lose her grip on reality. Taio Lawson’s inaugural production as the Bush theatre’s incoming artistic director is a full immersion into this disorienting, fragile mindscape. One moment, a scene unfolds as a naturalistic conversation; the next, the auditorium is plunged into pitch darkness, pierced by an eerie, rumbling soundscape. It’s a striking way for Lawson to make a creative entrance; but with so much happening onstage, the production tips into becoming overblown and chaotic. Continue reading...

Comments

Culture

Richard Madeley supported by Susanna Reid after sharing his ‘painful’ injury on Good Morning Britain

Independent

Comments

Similar News

Tony awards 2025: Maybe Happy Ending and Nicole Scherzinger win big while George Clooney misses out

Miss Myrtle’s Garden at the Bush Theatre review: a sweet, old-fashioned meditation on secrets and affection

Miss Myrtle’s Garden at the Bush Theatre: 'suffused with gentle wit'

‘Sinners’ Goes Beyond Horror and the Blues for Clarksdale, Miss.

National Library of Wales missing 2,200 items

The biggest complaint about Race Across The World misses the point completely

Missing Ted Lasso? Try golf comedy Stick

Netflix set to drop major Led Zeppelin documentary that’s missing one key part

7 best shows to binge if you’re already missing Doctor Who after finale

When the Annabelle doll goes ‘missing,’ the internet panics — here’s why

'The Last of Us' Season 2 Finale Confirms A Huge Missed Opportunity

Officials confirm ‘haunted’ Annabelle doll’s whereabouts after missing rumors go viral

Officials confirm ‘haunted’ Annabelle doll’s whereabouts after missing rumors go viral

International TV Series to Stream Now: ‘Miss Austen,’ ‘I, Jack Wright’ and More

Two Miss Austens, Asterix & Obelix and Robot Chambermaids

What not to miss at Radio 1's Big Weekend 2025

The Making of “Rust” Was a Tragedy. Its Final Form Is a Missed Opportunity

The tech billionaires are missing the point of their favorite sci-fi series

Eurovision’s Remember Monday singer’s wedding ring ‘goes missing’ following performance

Missing hiker survived for weeks in California wilderness by foraging and drinking melted snow

Culture

Richard Madeley supported by Susanna Reid after sharing his ‘painful’ injury on Good Morning Britain

James Martin says goodbye to Saturday Morning viewers after announcing break

Scott Mills admits that having BBC salary made public was ‘exposing’

With help from Haim, Chappell Roan and Charli XCX rule over Primavera Sound Barcelona 2025

Miley Cyrus reveals how she hid drug purchases from accountant

Adrian Edmondson’s ‘honest’ Rik Mayall admission resurfaces on anniversary of co-star’s death

Richard Madeley reveals grisly injury live on air after horror fall

Who won and lost at the 78th annual Tony Awards Sunday night

Broadway celebrates a spectacular season at the 2025 Tony Awards

President Trump said he fired a Smithsonian museum director. Can he do that?

Our Favorite Books for a Last-Minute Father’s Day Gift

Raw and Untamed, a Paul Taylor Dance Gets a Second Chance

Best and Worst Moments From the 2025 Tony Awards

Keanu Reeves ‘won the Tonys’ say fans after Jonathan Groff straddles him in viral moment

Harry Potter fans tear into Tom Felton’s response to JK Rowling’s anti-trans views

Inside the former paper plant about to become Edinburgh's next festival

Titillating tome may prove as controversial as Lady Chatterley's Mollusc

Everything to know on new ITV series Shardlake starring Arthur Hughes

Will the lights ever come back on at a £1m piece of public art?

How to win (or lose) a break up on social media

'The Phoenician Scheme' is full of Wes side-stories

I was wrong about the How to Train Your Dragon live-action remake

Harry Potter star Tom Felton says JK Rowling’s trans views don’t ‘impact’ his Draco Malfoy reprisal

Ryan Reynolds shares mock video reaction to having Deadpool role ‘stolen’ by Neil Patrick Harris

The live-action How to Train Your Dragon is another pointless, depressing copy-and-paste remake

Hugh Jackman recalls his ‘worst’ audition experience: ‘Just humiliated’

South Korea celebrates historic Tony win for Maybe Happy Ending

Snook and Scherzinger win top prizes at Tony Awards

Gloria Estefan: The reason I haven’t talked about my sexual abuse until now

Bruce Willis ‘found ways to soldier on with acting’ amid frontotemporal dementia diagnosis

James Whale gives update on ‘very difficult’ situation amid terminal cancer diagnosis

EastEnders star Bobby Brazier quits BBC soap after nearly four years

Tony Awards 2025: Full list of winners

Netflix’s Frankenstein might be the most urgent and timely blockbuster of 2025

Sex, grief and debauchery: Gráinne O’Hare on her blazing millennial novel Thirst Trap

Tyler Perry’s new Netflix movie lands impressive audience score after dividing critics

Tonys broadcast hit with sound complaints as viewers beg CBS to ‘turn on the mics’

Netflix quietly adds ‘superb under-the radar comedy’ set in Victorian London

Brit Awards to leave London for Manchester after 48 years

Tonys 2025 Takeaways: ‘Maybe Happy Ending’ Wins 6 Awards

‘Call Her Alex,’ Plus 7 Things on TV this Week

Snoop Dogg says he hopes to open burger van at Celtic Park

Cole Escola Wins the Tony for Best Actor in a Play

A Brooklyn teacher receives the excellence in theater education award.

‘Sunset Boulevard’ Starring Nicole Scherzinger Wins the Tony Award for Best Musical Revival

Trump is barely mentioned at the Tonys.

Darren Criss wins the Tony Award for best actor in a musical.

Nicole Scherzinger Wins the Tony for Best Actress in a Musical

‘Maybe Happy Ending’ Wins the Tony for Best Musical

Father's Day Gift Guide 2025: Best 4K Ultra HD movies

Hamilton fans react as key cast member ‘cut out’ of Tonys performance

‘Purpose’ wins the Tony for best play.

‘Eureka Day’ wins the Tony for best revival of a play.

Lin-Manuel Miranda and Original ‘Hamilton’ Cast Reunited for a Tonys Medley

Wicked 2 director confirms Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo will each have a brand new song

Harry Potter star Tom Felton says JK Rowling’s trans views don’t ‘impact’ his Draco Malfoy reprisal

Tonys broadcast hit with sound complaints as viewers beg CBS to ‘turn on the mics’