Review – She Wears Scented Rose

Review by Andreea Helen David.

Razor Sharp Productions and Yasir Senna present “She Wears Scented Rose“, a thriller! And what a thriller.

When I get invited to review a play I never look it up before going, because I like to go with my notepad blank of any kind of suggestions and influence. I didn’t know what to expect. Before I knew it, a man was writhing on the floor in pain and blood…trying to call for an ambulance. Ooh, I said to myself, this must be a comedy…and why is that lady not helping him? The stage direction and constant interruptions of the scene change are a bit off, same as the presence of some characters but that doesn’t spoil the overall enjoyment of the play.
I think the way it was constructed made it feel like a movie, full of twists and turns. The male characters are better developed and more interesting than the female characters.

I enjoyed the relationship between the two best friends, Mark (Craig Karpel) and Dave (Simon Ryeson). The female roles are most stereotypical, the sexy detective, the doting wife, the suspicious wife, the hysterical teenager, you see where I’m going with this, Yasir Senna, the writer, is clearly a man.

The first part is much lighter than the second. We see a loving family, and we are unsuspecting of what’s to come! I was still trying to guess what this play is about…until Dave saved me: of course there is a woman. So now we see our “hero” is a cheating so and so. Craig did an amazing job to charm us, just as his character did with the women in his life, to then break our hearts.

We discover some atrocious details as this story unfolds when we meet The Woman, played by Charlotte Campbell, who truly scared me! I was on the edge of my seat and I believed every word. And now I have to go the GP about my ears. Other great performances were from Rosalie Carn and Emma von Schreiber.
And what a heartbreaking moment the mortuary scene is, I think it got us all and of course, the end…collective gasp!

This is definitely a good night out.

At Theatre Techno until 20th of October.

Tickets here http://actdrop.uk/shows/show_listing?show=She%20Wears%20Scented%20Rose&id=7108&theatre=Theatro%20Technise