Page 165 - FINAL_Guildhall Media Highlights 2019-2020 Coverage Book

Gut – Milton Court Theatre, London

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Reviewer: Maryam Philpott

Writer: Frances Poet

Director: Kate Budgen
For a parent, where is the line between safety and danger; should you allow your child to

make theirown mistakes or protect them from every possible harm? Is every stranger a
threat or merely aSamaritan waiting to help? A Bruntwood Prize nominee, Gut by Frances
Poet asks many of thesequestions as a young couple face their fears before they’ve even

truly defined them.

Maddy and Rory are devoted parents to three-year old Joshua and as the play begins,
they’vereturned from a precious weekend alone only to discover his grandmother
Morven has permitted anill-judged encounter with a stranger. Deeply concerned by what

might have occurred during those fewunaccounted- for minutes Maddy’s imaginings
rapidly escalate and she starts to isolate herself and her son from the outside world. As

Rory watches in despair, just who or what is the real threat to Joshua’s safety?

Safeguarding is the issue of the moment in schools and universities, making this
Guildhall School of Music and Drama revival at the Milton Court Studio Theatre

extremely timely. But Poet’s superb 2018 play is also a shrewd and exciting choice for
this final year student production, combining as it does an intriguing set of characters, a
burning and complex central debate and is the very latest in new writing, a chance to