Anyone who knows me will attest that I am a total sucker for a coup de théâtre. This is a sudden, surprising event on stage that leaves you with with a real sense of 'wow'! I've often booked tickets solely on the basis that there's a coup de théâtre in the show. Pathetic, isn't it?
Recently the amazing long walk, seemingly into infinity of Rhys Ifans in Exit the King at the Olivier was mesmerising. Across the hallway at the Lyttleton, the final scene of Hedda Gabler had the whole stage seemingly turned into a television screen which retreated into the distance - a theatrical 'zoom out' which was stunning.
Ocean at the End of the Lane is full of them - some very clever visual tricks. And as a whole it's a fantastic show - if you get the chance to see it when all this virus stuff is over, I'd highly recommend it.
Ghost stories often rely on jump scares which are notoriously hard to pull off in the theatre and probably the best known (and longest running) show reliant on these is Woman in Black'. I remember seeing'Darker Shores' at Hampstead Theatre 11 years ago where an bed suddenly began to pour out water and a mysterious shape arose from the sheets.
And it was at Hampstead Theatre where we saw probably the most amazing sequence of Coups de théâtre in'Wild'. I won't spoil it for you because you now have the chance to see the whole show via streaming. Don't miss the extraordinary final act!
