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
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Democrats: The 2028 race has begun
Feature Democratic primaries have already kicked off in South Carolina
-
The Pentagon's missing missiles
Feature The U.S. military is low on weapons. Can it restock before a major conflict breaks out?
-
Rescissions: Trump's push to control federal spending
Feature The GOP passed a bill to reduce funding for PBS, NPR and other public media stations
-
The Coldplay kiss cam affair: a cautionary tale
In the Spotlight The pair became 'the most googled people on the planet' after getting caught having an affair at a Coldplay concert
-
Connie Francis: superstar of the early 1960s pop scene
In the Spotlight The 'Pretty Little Baby' and 'Stupid Cupid' singer has died aged 87
-
Friendship: 'bromance' comedy starring Paul Rudd and Tim Robinson
The Week Recommends 'Lampooning and embracing' middle-aged male loneliness, this film is 'enjoyable and funny'
-
6 head-turning homes for town house living
Feature Featuring a roof deck with city views in South Carolina and a renovated Harlem brownstone in New York City
-
Bookish: delightful period detective drama from Mark Gatiss
The Week Recommends 'Cosy crime' series is a 'standout pleasure' in an Agatha Christie-style formula
-
Music Reviews: Justin Bieber, Wet Leg, and Clipse
Feature "Swag," "Moisturizer," and "Let God Sort Em Out"
-
Film reviews: Eddington and Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight
Feature A New Mexico border town goes berserk and civil war through a child's eyes
-
Art Review: Hilma af Klint's What Stands Behind the Flowers
Feature Museum of Modern Art, New York City, through Sept. 27