reviews
KIN Reviews Highlights...
“Sparing, unadorned and placing emphasis on video interviews with some of Rutherford’s artistic peers – a who’s who of contemporary British theatre, including Claire Marshall and Cathy Naden of Forced Entertainment, Richard Gregory of Quarantine, Tim Ingram of Reckless Sleepers and the actor Alison Peebles – the performance asks its middle-aged participants to reflect on their changing relationships with elderly parents.” Peter Crawley The Irish Times, 11th May 2012
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/features/2012/0511/1224315905125.html
“Donna Rutherford's acclaimed one-woman KIN, built around moving testimonies of the middle-aged relating to ageing parents.” The Herald, 17th May 2012
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/made-in-scotlands-2012-showcase.17615748
“A show that relates closely to the raw stuff of real life... Punctuated by Rutherford’s own live commentary on the theme in hand, as she sips tea and eats toast, the show is as gentle and caring an exploration of a difficult subject as can be imagined. And the strange thing is that it’s very gentleness combined with it visual richness, gradually unleashes a terrific depth of emotion, as we in the audience face the fact that none of us will avoid the quiet and sometimes heartbreaking domestic truths explored here.” Joyce McMillan **** The Scotsman, 10th November 2011
“This solo performance is a powerful meditation on the shifting dynamics that seep into the relationship between middle-aged children and elderly parents. Talking straight to Rutherford’s unsentimental, unhistrionic lens, performersvolunteer affectionate anecdotes that also venture into what is often unspeakable territory, giving raw, vulnerable voice to the encroaching practical concerns. Rutherford has an instinct for delving into the troubled heartland of everyday life. Here, she succeeds in confronting our fears while reminding us to celebrate shared humanity. ”
Mary Brennan ***** The Herald 11th February 2011
“Rutherford is a performer with a track record and experience that ensures her exploration has profound and significant depth... Impossible to watch without bringing your own experience to bear – an invitation Rutherford makes specific in the opening minutes – and it is inconceivable that these stories will not find resonances in the lives of each audience member. However, it is probably true that it will seem most true to those of us, like Rutherford in that vast tranche of time referred to as “middle age”, whose aged parents are a current reality and responsibility. As a piece of work, it is worth taking the time to note that KIN is quite beautifully and meticulously realised, technically and in its timing to the last grain of sand in an hour glass. And, as we learn, those timepieces are, like memory, more fickle than we believe. “ Keith Bruce **** The Herald, 12th November 2011
http://www.heraldscotland.com/mobile/arts-ents/stage-visual-arts/kin-cumbernauld-theatre-1.1133368
“What her short, moving and absorbing show gives us, much like a [church] service, is the chance to step outside the normal run of things and contemplate our lives. This is not a show about tragedy or extraordinary events. It’s just that, in reflecting on their changing relationships, these five people in their 40s and 50s take time to meditate on their lives and their place in the world. Indeed, although the subject of Kin appears to be the aging mothers, it is really about their changing children, the only ones who have a voice in this show. Rutherford herself is in her early-40s and she talks about what it feels like to be a child who is no longer one of the young ones. This could come across as self-pity or self-obsession – after all, people have been growing old for a long time and, in that respect, there’s nothing special about this generation – but Kin is presented with so much care and delicacy that you can only be drawn in, finding yourself reflected in the various stories, and allowing yourself that rare time to step back and ponder.” Mark Fisher, 14th November 2011
http://northings.com/2011/11/14/kin/
Other articles:
http://www.tvbomb.co.uk/?p=12846
http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2011/nov/05/this-weeks-new-theatre-and-dance?INTCMP=SRCH