Tree - MCA - Creative Critics - MIF19 pt.4

The Creative Critics from Manchester Communication Academy review 'Tree' by Idris Elba & Kwame Kwei-Armah. Fourth Set.

Tree - MCA - Creative Critics - MIF19 pt.4

I have seen many plays, but this one has to be my favourite. It has eye-catching dancing, amazing fight scenes and an emotional storyline. 

When you enter where the performance is, there will be music playing and disco lights: at that time, you are able to dance freely and enjoy yourself. Soon, a man will come onto the stage and he will start to talk, making you intrigued, until he finishes his speech, when you will need to exit the stage for the performance is about to start.

There wasn’t a lot I didn’t enjoy, but the thing that annoyed me the most was that you would need to stand to watch the play, which could get really uncomfortable because the play is on for 90 minutes. If you didn’t want to stand, you could sit on the steps leading to the stage, but when I did that it felt even more uncomfortable than standing up so I wasn’t happy with that.

Overall, it was breath-taking: I could never get bored of it because all the way through there would be some kind of action happening and you would keep asking yourself questions from all the little hints they would add into the performance. 

The most enjoyable part for me, though, was when they would include people from the audience, especially when we were able to help build a beautiful tree at the end. So I would definitely recommend this to everyone over the age of 11 since it isn’t totally inappropriate for children under the age of 14, but it still does have a lot of swearing so I wouldn’t recommend it for people under 11.

The thing that all the actors wanted you take away with you was that there is no proper moral for this play. The moral is whatever you want it to be.

By Lily


Tree was one of the best plays I have seen. I loved how they brought the audience on the stage to be part of the performance. It made people more interested into watching it. The music was loud and it just came on out of nowhere and shocked everyone. I’ve never been that shocked in my life and I could feel the vibration through my chest when it started. Some parts were emotional, whilst other parts were hilarious, and that’s what I liked about it. It wasn’t always negative, but when it was (and the audience were really sad) the performance added a funny line. It wasn’t like a normal play. It felt like I was in a movie. 

Overall, I think that Tree is recommended for people for 10 years old and over even though its age restricted for over 14. And I also think it’s for people who like adventures and action.

By Leonardo


When I first went into the venue, it was very energetic and full of life. It was like we just entered a disco party or a club. Everyone was dancing on the stage, having fun. It was very interactive, as some of the actors had walked up to us and started to dance with us and helped to encourage us to dance. No one was embarrassed or not wanting to dance: everyone was involved. It was very important to have fun and be very relaxed but crazy. 

When the play had actually started, it was very strange, as you weren’t able to get the plot of the story at the beginning. It seemed like a very normal play, very generic, but when the play got more into the story it was very intriguing and very eye capturing as a result of the dancer’s movement to the words being spoken. Every word being spoken had a meaning and was inspirational. 

When I was told the play was a 14+, it shocked me, as I feel as though that it shouldn’t have had an age limit as due to the play being so influential and very eye opening. I feel as though any age should’ve been able to see it as then they would be able to interpret it in their own way. Despite their being swear words, I feel as though everyone would have taken that into consideration and questioned why they used that type of language. 

The play was performed with passion and emotion as the actors used powerful expressions and powerful body language. Through this, they were able to show how important and how painful these events were. Due to them being based off of true events it gave the meaning behind the play more meaning. We were able to learn some of the things that was happening and still may be happening in South Africa. 

I feel as though I liked this performance the most, as it was very expressive and you were able to be silly and be yourself. It was not judgemental and even the actors helped us. During the performance, many audience members were brought to the stage and were also the actors. There weren’t any ‘professionals’, everyone was an actor and everyone was equal, no one was different and everyone was equal. Overall I really joined this performance and it was for all ages young or old.

By Nafeesa


When I first entered the venue, I was treated with a disco with an amazing DJ playing interesting and eccentric music. It was a lot of fun as me and my friends danced and messed about. Then the actual performance began; it was ominous and intriguing as the lighting was dark and the sounds they used were quiet and terrifying. My favourite part of this was the interactivity, since it created an immersive experience as we got to go on stage and help the actors with props and different types of things to do to get the audience hyped up. Overall, I think this was one of the best experiences of my life so far. The play was filled with emotion, work and power and when you watch it you will know how much work the producers and the cast have put in to it. So if you want a play with thrills, chills and pure emotions then I highly recommend the play to you.

By Noman Y


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Header Image Credit: MIF

Author

Emrys Green

Emrys Green Voice Team

Emrys is the Business & Projects manager at Upstart who runs Voice.

Alongside managing Voice and its related programmes of work Emrys manages web builds and live events through his own pursuits - with a wide encapsulation of the arts sector. Theatre, Dance, Circus, Spoken Word and a combination of contemporary and shakespearean work would all be in his wheelhouse.

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