Death of England: Closing Time review – 'bold, brash reflection on racism'
The final part of this trilogy deftly explores rising political tensions across the country

In the weeks since the opening of the first two plays in Clint Dyer and Roy Williams's reprised "Death of England" trilogy – which is being performed together for the first time – "racist riots" in England's cities have given their "interrogation of toxic whiteness a new urgency", said Suzi Feay in the FT.
First staged at the National in 2020, the first two parts are monologues, which introduce us to Michael (Thomas Coombes), a working-class white man raised by a racist father, and Delroy (Paapa Essiedu), his Black British, pro-Brexit best friend. Their friendship is "both cemented and complicated" by Delroy's love for Michael's sister Carly. In "Closing Time", a two-hander that was staged at the National three years later, Carly and Delroy's mother Denise "talk about their lives" and, by extension, "the state of the nation".
Dyer and Williams have been hailed for skilfully tapping into "contemporary political tensions", said Rachel Halliburton in The Times. In this "excoriating" third part, Carly (Erin Doherty) and Denise (Sharon Duncan-Brewster) are facing the collapse of the small business they've been running together; and in quickfire dialogue, they cover "everything from the middle-class blight of Gail's bakery to inherited racism". Duncan-Brewster superbly conveys her character's "simmering rage" about the failure of the shop for which she sacrificed so much; and though this anger seems not initially to be targeted directly at Doherty's "mouthy, amusingly defensive Carly", we get flashes of the "knots and contradictions that have trapped them both".
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.
This is a "bold, brash reflection on racism, white culpability and working-class identity", said Arifa Akbar in The Guardian. But it's flawed. The piece's emotional power is diluted by "exaggerated" comedy and a near farcical amount of shouting and stomping, and the script's bagginess is more apparent in this reprisal. For too long, "the dialogue wanders aimlessly", and key points are lost owing to the speed of the delivery. The play is not without searing moments, but overall, it's too hectic and too loose.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Is New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s plan for free buses realistic?
Talking Points A transit innovation or a costly mistake
-
5 side hustle ideas to supplement your budget
the explainer Almost two-thirds of Americans are looking to get a second job in the next year
-
DOJ indicts John Bolton over classified files
Speed Read Continuing the trend of going after his political enemies, Trump prosecutes his former national security adviser
-
Heirs and Graces: an ‘enthralling’ deep dive into the decline of nobility
The Week Recommends Eleanor Doughty explores the ‘bizarre fascination’ with the British aristocracy
-
6 sporty homes with tennis courts
Feature Featuring a clay tennis court in New York and a viewing deck in California
-
Critics’ choice: Seafood in the spotlight
Feature An experimental chef, a newspaper-worthy newcomer, and a dining titan’s fresh spin-off
-
Taylor Swift’s Showgirl: Much glitter, little gold
Feature Swift’s new album has broken records, but critics say she may have gotten herself creatively stuck
-
Theater review: Masquerade
218 W. 57th St., New York City 218 W. 57th St., New York City
-
Film reviews: Roofman and Kiss of the Spider Woman
Feature An escaped felon’s heart threatens to give him away and a prisoner escapes into daydreams of J.Lo.
-
Broadway actors and musicians are on the brink of a strike
The explainer The show, it turns out, may not go on
-
Cyrano de Bergerac: a ‘huge-hearted’ production
The Week Recommends This ‘playful’ and ‘poignant’ rendition brings new life to the ‘gilet-sporting, verse-spouting’ titular soldier