Alterations: 'riveting' 1970s tailoring comedy is a lot of fun
'Retro gem' from the National Theatre's Black Plays Archive 'springs into life' from the start

"If there is an afterlife", then the late Michael Abbensetts must be "looking down from it in delighted surprise", said Andrzej Lukowski in Time Out. The Guyana-born playwright, who settled in London in the early 1960s, became known in the late 1970s for the black-led TV drama "Empire Road", which aired on the BBC. Around the same time, he wrote "Alterations", a "bittersweet" drama about a Windrush-era immigrant who is desperate to own his own tailoring shop on Carnaby Street. It premiered at a London fringe venue in 1978.
Now, it's being given its first revival in 40 years – on the National Theatre's vast Lyttelton stage, said Sarah Hemming in the Financial Times. "Alterations" turns out to be a thought-provoking play, even if it lacks the depth and intricacy of a truly great one, and it really "springs to life" in Lynette Linton's warm and finely acted production.
"Excavated from the National Theatre's Black Plays Archive", and given new material by Trish Cooke, this "retro gem" is entirely set in a scruffy upstairs shop crammed with clothes racks, said Arifa Akbar in The Guardian. There, the ambitious tailor and his team "talk, dream, fight, horse around – and bet on the horses" – as they battle to finish a huge order. "Alterations" may be a period piece, said Tim Bano in The London Standard, but it is not in the least bit dusty. "Colour, music, motion, loads of laughter: the whole thing feels completely alive from its first moment."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Arinze Kene is excellent as the tailor, an "anti-hero unlovably married to his job", said Dominic Cavendish in The Daily Telegraph. There are strong supporting performances, too, in particular from Cherrelle Skeete as his neglected wife. "Alterations" emerges in this "richly textured" production as a "fine drama of ideas and warring imperatives, the humour stitched with pathos". It highlights the realities of "attempted assimilation, while addressing – with timeless, tragicomic flair – the way that self-sacrifice can result in frayed hopes and dreams". This is a "riveting" and "revelatory" staging that "reclaims Abbensetts as a major voice".
Lyttelton, National Theatre, London SE1. Until 5 April
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Labubu: the 'creepy' dolls sparking brawls in the shops
Craze for the pint-sized soft toys has reached fever pitch among devotees
-
The top period dramas to stream now
The Week Recommends Heaving bosoms and billowing shirts are standard fare in these historical TV classics
-
Women need more pain management during gynecological procedures
Under the radar Pain should no longer be ignored
-
The cinematic beauty of Sicily's Aeolian Islands
The Week Recommends These scattered islands have inspired film directors since the 1950s
-
6 lounge-ready homes with conversation pits
Feature Featuring a terrazzo-flanked pit in California and a fire-side pit in Nevada
-
Is a River Alive?: a 'powerful synthesis of literature, activism and ethics'
The Week Recommends Robert Macfarlane's latest book centres on his journeys to four river systems around the world
-
Good One: an 'intensely compelling' coming-of-age tale
The Week Recommends India Donaldson's 'quietly devastating' debut feature about a teenage girl's life-changing camping trip
-
The best lemon pepper wings in Atlanta
Feature Marinated turkey wings, a Korean barbecue sauce combo and an off-menu staple
-
Film reviews: Friendship and Fight or Flight
Feature An awkward dad unravels after he's unfriended and Josh Hartnett attempts a John Wick sidestep
-
Art review: Ai, Rebel: The Art and Activism of Ai Weiwei
Feature Seattle Art Museum, through Sept. 7
-
Book reviews: 'Second Life: Having a Child in the Digital Age' and 'Mark Twain'
Feature Navigating pregnancy in the digital age and an exploration of Mark Twain's private life