It’s bad timing for This Much is True that it should come so soon after Kieron Barry’s impressively taut Stockwell, based on the inquest into the de Menezes shooting.
What could have been helped, though, is the bagginess of focus, the way Paul Unwin and Sarah Beck’s piece skitters about without ever really deciding where it wants to go, using fresh interviews here, and transcripts and media coverage there.
The reach is greater than Stockwell’s — de Menezes’s family get a bigger look-in, and there’s news of the Justice4Jean campaign — but the clarity is reduced. If we’re not sure who’s speaking, it’s hard to give weight to the opinion. Still, there’s commitment from the six-strong cast, and particularly commendable character definition from Justine Waddell as the languidly confident Michael Mansfield QC.
True until 21 November (020 7978 7040), www.theatre503.com).
This Much Is True
Theatre 503, The Latchmere Pub
Battersea Park Road, SW11 3BW
