Alterations
Closing: April 05, 2025Alterations - 2025 West End History , Info & More
Lyttelton Theatre
National Theatre London
Walker Holt has big dreams for his tailor’s shop, and an even bigger order to complete. Over the course of 24 hours he must work tirelessly to satisfy his new client’s impossible tailoring needs.
But as the night goes on, it’s not just the trouser hems that start to fray as tensions rise and Walker’s friendships and relationships are pushed to their limits. His success comes at a cost, but what price is he willing to pay?
Lynette Linton (Blues for an Alabama Sky, Shifters) directs Michael Abbensetts’ (Sweet Talk, Empire Road) era-defining comedy, with additional material by Trish Cooke, in its largest ever staging.
FEATURED REVIEWS FOR Alterations
Alterations review – tailoring comedy remade to measure at the National Theatre
7 / 10
It ultimately feels like a nicely observed but relatively slight slice of life drama. Linton sometimes overcompensates: having a lad wearing Beats headphones occasionally wander across the stage feels like a hysterically heavy-handed way of reminding us of the present generation’s connection to Walker’s. I’m also not totally convinced by the star casting of Kene. It seems to me that Walker is a relatively simple character, but Kene’s combination of freakish good looks and a determination to burden Walker with a load of physical business and a somewhat incongruous pernickity middle manager vibe leaves the character feeling weirdly elusive and ill-defined compared to literally everyone else on stage. Alterations is a ’70s fringe play that will never be a perfect fit with the Lyttelton. But was it worth staging it anyway? Absolutely!
Alterations at the National Theatre review: 'a finely tailored play'
8 / 10
Linton keeps everything in a square patch on stage, which often revolves, with just a few dreamlike, fantasy-infused moments taking place outside the square. That little shop floor is Walker’s safe space, away from a society where - as he and Buster discuss - he’s only ever seen as ‘a problem’. And though a few threads could be snipped away here and there, Cooke and Linton don’t just revive this finely tailored play. They make it burst at its seams.
by Chloe Rabinowitz - March 4, 2025
See what the critics are saying about Alterations at the National Theatre.
by Aliya Al-Hassan - February 28, 2025
Michael Abbensetts was the first Black writer to have a series commissioned by the BBC: the groundbreaking Empire Road, which had an almost entirely Black cast and crew. The Guyanese writer's work has been largely forgotten, so it seems appropriate that the National Theatre, with its important Black Plays Archive, has chosen to stage his play Alterations, not seen since 1978.
by Chloe Rabinowitz - December 30, 2024
Lynette Linton will direct Michael Abbensetts’ comedy, Alterations, at the National Theatre. Get a first look at the trailer for the production and see how to purchase tickets.
Alterations History
Other Productions of Alterations
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