The Upcoming
  • Cinema & Tv
    • Movie reviews
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Show reviews
  • Music
    • Live music
  • Food & Drinks
    • News & Features
    • Restaurant & bar reviews
    • Interviews & Recipes
  • Theatre
  • Art
  • Travel & Lifestyle
  • Literature
  • Fashion & Beauty
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Competitions
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

CultureTheatre

RAZ at the Trafalgar Studios

RAZ at the Trafalgar Studios | Theatre review
27 March 2016
The editorial unit
Avatar
The editorial unit
27 March 2016

It’s Friday, and Shane is getting ready for another booze and drug-fueled night. By day, he lives with his parents and works at a dead-end job, but come Friday he’s a “weekend millionaire”, dressed to impress and eager to blow through his meagre wages.

Shane first makes his appearance wearing Superman briefs in a tanning booth, where he bakes for exactly nine minutes in order to be a golden god by the time he’s out on the town. Once home, he primps and makes the necessary calls to his friends, the “birds” and the drug dealer, setting up the night starting at the local pub and moving on to the clubs. Drugs are plenty and Shane has the perfect formula for how to navigate the various highs for the ideal experience.

From their first pints at the Rose, Shane and his mates engage in banter and debauchery. Throughout the play, James morphs to deliver lines of his offstage cast members with grace, in part thanks to the playwright’s ability to flesh out conversational intricacies in the script. It’s easily believable thanks to the excellent lighting and sound coordination, which is so good it almost provides another actor on stage. Cartwright perfectly depicts Shane’s tendency for escapism, the desperation with which he seeks fulfillment by chasing the next high, effectively numbing himself to feelings and the actuality of his situation. When he thinks he spots his ex-girlfriend in the same club, the lads are by his side with more pills to pop, ready to help him forget his worries.

Anthony Banks’ direction takes the audience with Shane on his trip, and they too feel the comedown when the artificial euphoria starts to wear out and the hangover sets in. RAZ is a poignant reflection on the harsh reality facing today’s young adult generation. It’s profound and at times dark, but entertaining throughout the entire 50-minute run.

★★★★★

Laura Kramer

Raz is on at the Trafalgar Studios from 22nd March until 16th April. Book your tickets here.

Watch the trailer for Raz here:

Please accept YouTube cookies to play this video. By accepting you will be accessing content from YouTube, a service provided by an external third party.

YouTube privacy policy

If you accept this notice, your choice will be saved and the page will refresh.

Related Itemsreview

More in Theatre

The Father and the Assassin at the National Theatre

★★★★★
Natallia Pearmain
Read More

Dirty Dancing the Movie in concert at Apollo Theatre

★★★★★
Jim Compton-Hall
Read More

My Fair Lady at the London Coliseum

★★★★★
Michael Higgs
Read More

“When you’re presented with different dilemmas in life, you respond accordingly”: Debbie Kurup on The Cher Show

Mae Trumata
Read More

2:22 A Ghost Story at Criterion Theatre

★★★★★
Michael Higgs
Read More

The House of Shades at Almeida Theatre

★★★★★
Csilla Tornallyay
Read More

Grease at Dominion Theatre

★★★★★
Cristiana Ferrauti
Read More

House of Ife at Bush Theatre

★★★★★
Selina Begum
Read More

Banter Jar at Lion & Unicorn Theatre: “An authentic and timely one-woman show”

★★★★★
Jessica Wall
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Theatre review

The editorial unit

RAZ

★★★★★

Dates

22nd March - 16th April 2016

Price

£15-£25

BUY TICKETS

Links & directions

WebsiteMap

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Albert Adrià reopens Enigma on 7 June as a “fun-dining” restaurant and cocktail bar
    Food & Drinks
  • Paolo Nutini at the 100 Club
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Crimes of the Future: Three new clips from David Cronenberg’s dystopian body horror film
    Cannes
  • Plan 75
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • The Father and the Assassin at the National Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Men
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • Diary of a Fleeting Affair (Chronique d’une Liaison Passagère)
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • Don Juan
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • Triangle of Sadness
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • Return to Seoul
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • Men
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • Triangle of Sadness
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • Aftersun
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • Paris Memories (Revoir Paris)
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • More than Ever (Plus que Jamais)
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why
With the support from:
International driving license

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

Fat Freddys Drop at the Brixton Academy | Live review
Marvellous Imaginary Menagerie at Greenwich Theatre | Theatre review