Review: INTIMATE APPAREL, Donmar Warehouse

In Intimate Apparel clothes are the nexus between class and communities. Set in 1905 New York, Esther, a solitary seamstress crafts lingerie in a grotty boarding-house. Two of her clients, a sex worker and 5th Avenue socialite, confide in her, gently pulling the thread that unravels cultures and communities. It premiered in 2003 but it’s composed resolve and effervescent warmth oscillate tenderly in 2025.

The third Donmar Theatre collaboration between playwright Lynn Nottage and director Lynette Linton gorgeously weaves a lyrical tapestry of a metropolitan urban melting pot, shedding light on the resilience of immigrant communities, their collective endurance, and their support for one another. A lesser playwright would brashly capitalise ideas, but Nottage cherishes quiet humanity first and foremost.

Aspiring to open her own beauty salon, Esther nurtures dreams of independence while developing a romantic connection with George, a manual labourer toiling on the Panama Canal. He strides across an onstage balcony to recite his love letters, arms caked in mud, words enveloping the stage through projections swirling with the giddy ebbing and flowing of blossoming romance.

Love is the light at the end of Esther’s tunnel. But George is not all he seems. The only man in her world who values her sensitivity is her materials supplier RMr Marks, played by a charmingly impish Alex Waldmann. An unspoken but heartfelt bond sparks from stolen glances and mischievous flirtations despite the cultural distance wedged between them by his Orthodox Judaism.

It’s heartfelt, delicately melodramatic twists are brought out in Technicolor under Linton’s expressionism-tinged direction. Scenes flow seamlessly into one another as if memories are melting together, a fitting stylistic garnish given that the story is inspired by Nottage’s great-grandmother. Black and white photographs flash on stage to tail end acts – “unnamed Negro couple” scrawled on top, a poignant signifier of the historical adversities endured, while accentuating the beauty of the cross-cultural connections forged.

But just as the staging risks overembellishing the sentimentalism, Samira Wiley grounds the production in a subtle powerhouse performance. Her Esther is restrained, finding delicacy in the smallest glance, the tiniest flicker of a compassionate gesture. Her eyes are heavy with exhaustion but the glint of Esther’s ambition lovingly sparkles through.

Nottage has won a mouth-drooling long list of awards. Within seconds you can see why. Her collaborations with Linton always hit the mark. Long may they last.

Intimate Apparel plays at The Donmar Warehouse until 9 August