BURDEN OF PROOF
21st May to 1st June 2024 at 7.30pm
White Bear Theatre
138 Kennington Park Road, London SE11
Written by Ian Dixon Potter
Directed by Phoebe White
Performed by Neil Summerville, Kieron Riddell, Elizabeth Orekoya, John Lutula, Francesca Anderson & Diljohn Singh
Detective Sergeant Dunderdale is on the brink of solving a bloody murder but is there enough evidence to convict Joseph Wade? Dunderdale is determined to secure a conviction by fair means or foul. After all, isn't it acceptable to bend the rules a little if the only alternative is for a dangerous killer to walk free?
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REVIEWS:
“Summerville succeeds in engaging us. Despite how unlikeable his character is, we cannot help but be drawn in by the actor who truly impresses”
“Lutula conveys so much pain, anger and sadness in this brief but memorable scene that sums up exactly what the play is about”
“Kieron Riddell convinces as he switches between various roles while Elizabeth Orekoya as Wade’s sister is also compelling considering what little stage time she is afforded. Francesca Anderson and Diljohn Singh provide strong support to complete the cast”
“We are left deeply provoked, although sadly not at all surprised by what we have witnessed”
★★★★ Jonathan Marshall for Londontheatre1
“Ian Dixon Potter’s hard hitting play” “Summerville gives an outstanding performance” “It’s alarmingly convincing” “very disturbing” “Lutula makes Wade very believable. He’s a talented actor” “Keiron Riddell is particularly strong” “I particularly admired his voice work”“compelling stuff which forces you to listen in horror”
★★★★ Theatre journalist Susan Elkin
Reviews of an earlier version of the play:
“Authentic and credible. You will want to know how it ends even as you are appalled by the direction the investigation is going”
★★★★ Theatre Monkey
“Could not have been more timely” “It’s a quite horrifying tale” “Summerville is in top form here creating another monster hiding beneath a cloak of respectability” “Dunderdale is a loathsome and even quite dangerous individual; Summerville’s skill is in making him someone so watchable even as we are repulsed” “a series of short scenes each with more disturbing revelations than the last. The thing is that somehow it all seems so believable.”
John Chapman (2nd from bottom theatre reviews).
The Immortalist
10th to 21st June 2025 at 7.30pm
White Bear Theatre
138 Kennington Park Road, London SE11
Written by Ian Dixon Potter
Given the chance, would you choose to be immortal? To expand your mind beyond the boundaries of human experience?
What would it feel like to upload your consciousness to the cloud? Would you yearn for interaction with the physical world?
Transhuman explores issues of mortality, identity and personality - challenging our notions of what it means to be human.
Written by Ian Dixon Potter
REVIEWS (of an earlier version of the play).
“What it means to be human becomes the focus of Dixon Potter’s story as the lead character is pushed to further extremes in her pursuit of continued existence.”
“In keeping with Dixon Potter’s other work, this references a notion of British protectionism and its consequences for those with few financial options. The commercialisation of death and its effects on the living are chillingly represented and as Transhuman plays out, the true transition comes from the seemingly harmless longing for immortality becoming a practical monstrousness in its stead.”
“Thomasin Lockwood convincingly suggests all of these facets as her character’s experience evolves and warps as the audience is given greater knowledge of the circumstances of the transition and the digital afterlife. Lockwood introduces a reticence later in the performance, almost an undercurrent of guilt that competes with an overriding determination to carry on living in the fullest sense.”
“Transhuman develops a rather nasty bite. There are notes of regret, resentment even bitterness about her physical absence that lead the story to some much darker places." "an intriguing twist"
★★★★ The Reviews Hub
“Transhuman is particularly strong at evoking this desperation to keep living, whatever the cost.”
“Dixon Potter manages to personalise with greater intimacy than usual the potential benefits and restrictions such possibilities may bring. As a short work intended for the stage, this crams in considerably more ideas than the initial scenario suggests.”
“Lockwood provides a study in stillness and concentration even as her tale builds.”
“Her character holds our attention for the entire recording. Dixon Potter avoids in the main science-fiction cliché, presenting rationally some likely unfeasible ideas in a manner making the story convincing.”
“This is the fundamental question: can human existence be reduced to bytes, and what might the effect be? The answer is an interesting half hour.”
★★★★ Theatre Monkey
“Thomasin Lockwood gives an exceptionally well controlled performance that has hints of the outcome from the start but allows enough room for the viewer to do some work too in solving the puzzle” “short but sharp”
John Chapman '2nd From Bottom' Online Theatre Reviews
