Come Play by the Lake: ‘Sea Wall’ and ‘The Fall After Midsummer’
The Quiet Power of Sea Wall
What do you get when you take away the set, the costumes, the sounds, and all the props? You’re left with just an actor and a story, and for Simon Stephens’ Sea Wall, that is more than enough.
Sea Wall is about a man simply known as Alex (Craig Norton). Alex is a man in love—with his wife, his daughter, and the routines of his life. The audience listens along as Alex reflects on the profound highs and lows of his most important relationships. This is a one-man play, anchored entirely by Norton’s performance. With no set, no props, and not even a chair to lean on, Norton commands the stage with his presence, vulnerability, and deep emotional range.
Stephens’ script is deceptively simple. It begins lightly with the audience introduced to Alex through his fun jokes and warm anecdotes. He tells stories about holiday visits to see his father-in-law, watching his wife give birth, and parenting their curious eight-year-old daughter. There are laugh-out-loud moments too. A personal favourite is when Alex recalls his wife’s socialist guilt about having a parent with a home in the South of France. But slowly, the tone shifts. The story takes on a deeper undercurrent and the audience is disturbingly aware that something dark is coming.
Carrying a production with only one actor can be a challenge but it is one that Sea Wall handles with ease. Norton is magnetic as Alex. Throughout his monologue, he shifts between tones and tempos effortlessly, sometimes quick and conversational, sometimes slow and questioning. He whips out a British accent for effect, mumbles to show discomfort, and pauses at all the right places. His delivery makes it easy to forget this is a performance—it feels more like a middle aged man letting you into his life.
Michael Catlin’s choices as technical director also add to the feelings of closeness in the theatre. Catlin’s lighting leaves the theatre dim but not dark, making it feel a bit more real. As if a man is simply telling his story of love and loss rather than performing a script. Music and sound effects are also used sparingly with just a touch of ocean ambience to open the scene. A couple additional scenes with some more background sounds (perhaps birds chirping) would have added some immersiveness to the show, but the restraint works. It keeps our focus on the story Alex is telling.
What I find most striking about Sea Wall is how much it accomplishes with so little. Here, theatre is stripped to its essentials, and it hits hard. Sea Wall delivers warmth, unexpected turns, and emotional gut punches. When the show ends, the applause is loud and lingers long after the stage is empty. This is the kind of show that stays with you because of how human and vulnerable it is.
‘Sea Wall’ premiered at Domino Theatre as a part of the Come Play By The Lake One-Act Festival on July 4, 2025. More information about the festival can be found here.
Dark Romance Takes Centre Stage in The Fall After Midsummer
Content Warning: ‘The Fall after Midsummer’ mentions murder, violence, and discusses an emotionally abusive relationship. Although this review does not discuss these topics in depth, they are general themes in the performance.
Have you ever suspected your on-again, off-again husband of murdering your ex-lover?
In The Fall After Midsummer, a toxic love story unfolds in all its deliciously dark twists and turns. Tania and Ron—modern nods to Titania and Oberon from A Midsummer Night’s Dream—are caught in a cyclical “on again, off again” romance. Except with them, it’s not just breakups and makeups, it’s drama, seduction, jealousy, a murder plot… and yes, someone loses their head.
Originally staged at the 2024 TK Fringe, I was among the lucky audience members who caught its return for a one-night-only performance at Domino Theatre. And what a night it was.
Shannon Donnelly and Michael Donnelly are electric as Tania and Ron. Their chemistry is palpable—sometimes sizzling, other times tender, and so intense it felt like eavesdropping on a private conversation. Turns out, they’re a real-life couple, which explains the magnetic energy between them. There’s a physicality to their performances, both comedic and emotional, that elevates the story and makes it more powerful.
Tania, as played by Shannon, is a woman unraveling. She is mourning a lost lover, reeling from unresolved feelings, and questioning her role in a toxic, passionate love that refuses to die. Her transformation is both emotional and visual. Through Chloe Whitehorn’s clever directing and costuming, the audience sees Tania shed old identities and embrace a darker, femme-fatale version of herself. It’s theatrical, it’s dramatic, and it fits the world of this play perfectly.
Michael’s Ron is the perfect dark anti-hero. He is charming, manipulative, and, at times, genuinely terrifying. At one point, he delivers a short monologue about how he’d kill a lover’s ex with such intensity that I almost jumped in my seat. However, his comedic timing balances the tension completely, leaving the audience with sharp, funny moments amongst the madness and toxicity.
Whitehorn’s script is poetic and full of surprising turns. It questions the love in toxic relationships and explores themes of loss, obsession, passion, and performance. There are funny moments, steamy ones too, Shakespearean references, and even a dash of whodunnit mystery. You never quite know who’s telling the truth or who the real villain is.
The set at Domino Theatre works well for this production. Whitehorn’s decisions as stage manager guide us through dreams, reality, and emotional shifts with precision. One standout moment involved Tania in a dream/nightmare state. The lighting shift to reality was sudden and fit the feeling of being jolted awake.
This isn’t a play for young children, but it’s a total treat for adults who enjoy theatre that’s messy, sexy, and emotionally charged. The final moments left me both introspective and entertained. When Tania questions herself as an actor and person—”If all the world’s a stage, does that mean I’m always acting?”—the line hits differently.
The Fall After Midsummer is bold, funny, emotionally rich, and superbly delivered. If the show ever returns to the stage, it’s a definite must-see for anyone who enjoys modern takes on Shakespeare, passionate performances, or just a damn good love-and-murder story.
‘The Fall After Midsummer’ was shown at Domino Theatre as a part of the Come Play By The Lake One-Act Festival on July 4, 2025. More information about the festival can be found here.
