Theatre Review: In The Shadow Of The Mountain Tackles Personality Disorders

In The Shadow Of The Mountain, Old Red Lion Theatre ★★☆☆☆

By Chris Bridges Last edited 70 months ago

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Theatre Review: In The Shadow Of The Mountain Tackles Personality Disorders In The Shadow Of The Mountain, Old Red Lion Theatre 2

Depictions of poor mental health have come on a long way. No longer portrayed as 'mad' degenerates who rock, grimace and wreak havoc, we're (yes, it's 25% of us) now shown in a more nuanced and sympathetic light. However, although we talk about depression and anxiety openly there are areas of mental illness that are rarely shown and little understood. Personality disorders still carry a huge stigma and are seldom mentioned and it's fantastic that In The Shadow of the Mountain exists.

Felicity Huxley-Miners attempts to show us a relationship where the woman has a disorder making her emotionally labile, desperate to cling onto attachments by any means and plagued by black and white thinking.

Sadly, the play just doesn't work. The depiction of Ellie is shrill and relentless and is a crashing bore to watch and there's little about her that's sympathetic. It's a long 70 minutes with touches of comedy that mostly fall flat on their face and barely any dramatic arc or tension. Set at one tone, you're unlikely to come away informed or entertained by this.

In the Shadow of the Mountain, Old Red Lion Theatre, 418 St John Street, EC1V 4NJ, £14-£16. Until 2 June.

Last Updated 22 May 2018