Otherland
18 February 2025
Almeida Theatre
5.0 out of 5.0 stars
Otherland, currently on at the Almeida Theatre until 15 March, is a definitive play on the spectrum of womanhood, female agency, and bodily autonomy. A stunning production that is as important today as it is deeply touching and widely encompassing of women’s lived experiences.
The show starts out as a break-up story, revolving around Harry and Jo who fell in love, got married, and eventually drifted apart. Both try to make sense of their new lives, new partners, new goals apart from each other, facing very different struggles that intersect and converge in surprising ways. While the first act is played as a relationship drama type story, it’s the second act where this show really comes into its own, wowing with Black Mirror-esque scenes examining the emotional turmoil of women struggling with physical changes and bodily autonomy, feelings of isolation and otherness, public perception of womanhood in stark opposition to inner feelings and thoughts.
It’s a wild ride of a show that delves deep into the darkest corners of societal pressures and personal expression. With a moody staging that utilises gorgeous song and stark lighting changes, it’s full of life and a wide range of emotion, from absolute love and elation to deep devastation and despair.
Two women on a journey to self-discovery from very different perspectives, Otherland is a contemporary work on womanhood, personal development, and the way we all change through the people we surround ourselves with. Futuristic and nostalgic at once, this ethereal and artistic production is a strong and compelling journey that settles deep into the bones of viewers, opening minds and eyes while beautifully telling a narrative of the pressures of femininity and coming into full personhood through struggle and discovery. A defining show that I cannot recommend enough!
