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Accessibility Review of Mercury Theatre’s ‘Jane Eyre’ Directed By Lily Dyble

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Hi everyone and welcome to another review! We’re coming into the colder months now so won’t be too long until my favourite time of year. But until then, I got the chance to see ‘Jane Eyre’ at The Mercury Theatre in Colchester.

Starring Olivia Marus as Jane Eyre. It tells the classic story of a young Victorian orphan through her difficult childhood, into become a passionate young woman in the Victorian era.

The show is very dark and simple with only a flight of stairs as the set, but with a great use of lighting and sound design each scene feels vastly different from the last. There some uses of bright lights during the show for the more dramatic moments. But they are very far and few between. I think I count three time when this actually happened.

There were some scenes where things did become more difficult to see. This was due very low lighting, or just low lighting then what I would personally need. The use of sounds really adds to the atmosphere of scene brilliant, so it really helped when I struggled to understand the scene from the visual elements.

A stepped wooden platform on a dark stage with several performers arranged across its levels. The platform rises like a wide staircase into the background, and each level holds one or two performers dressed in muted brown and gray clothing that suggests historical peasant or servant attire, including long skirts, aprons, and headscarves. Most performers are slumped, lying, or sitting in weary poses, some leaning on boxes placed on each step as if they are workstations or beds. Metal buckets and piles of what looks like rags or mop heads sit beside some of the boxes, hinting at cleaning or labor. Bright, cool-toned stage lights shine diagonally from both sides toward the center and down from above, cutting through haze so that the light beams are clearly visible and framing the performers in a dramatic, somber atmosphere. The surrounding stage area beyond the lit platform is mostly in darkness, with only faint outlines of curtains and side lighting rigs visible, so attention is focused on the central group.
Photo Credit: Johan Persson

Olivia Marus and the rest of the cast did an outstanding job, conveying the emotion, and what was at stake in each of the scenes. Andera Gatchalian also really stood at to me as she did an awesome display of emotion and depth for both her characters. To the point where I wanted to look her up in the programme at the interval. As said before Olivia, Andera and all of the cast did a fantastic job in this show. You really did sit there watching this and really wanted things to work out for all the characters.  

This was an excellent modem take on the story in terms of set design, but keeping the known classic story. Directed by Lily Dyble, this show fully displayed her heart, passion, and knowledge within the industry and I fully can’t wait to see what she will be up to next. I will be keeping my eye out for her name in the future, and hopefully that will happen soon! A definite one for the future!  

A large, dramatic staircase on a theater stage with both sides lined in tall orange flames. The stairs form a wide pyramid shape, made of dark rectangular blocks that step upward to a flat platform at the top. A single bright spotlight from above shines down toward the top center of the structure, cutting through haze or light smoke and emphasizing the heat of the fire. On the staircase, a person in a dark dress with short sleeves is walking upward toward the top, facing away. The flames are continuous along the outer edges of the stairs, rising several inches to a foot high, with bright yellow and orange tongues and darker smoke near the top. The stage floor and background are very dark, almost entirely black, so the fire and the figures are the main visible elements. On the lower left side of the image, two people stand on the stage floor, facing the staircase; both wear dark clothing, one in a suit-style outfit with a lighter shirt. On the right side of the stage, two more people stand spaced apart, also facing the staircase; they wear sleeveless or short-sleeved dark outfits, their faces and arms lit by the orange glow. In the front right corner, nearer to the camera, a figure in a long, light, semi-transparent garment stands watching the scene, mostly in shadow except for some orange highlights from the fire. The overall atmosphere is intense and theatrical, with strong contrasts between the bright flames and the surrounding darkness, giving a sense of a climactic or ritual-like moment in a performance.
Photo Credit: Johan Persson

On to the accessibility then:

If you have some useful vision: I think here overall you will be able to follow the story with very little effort. There will be times of both bright and dark moments through the show. But these won’t be for very long. There isn’t a clear difference for each character in terms of costume. Which I think would have really helped here with a lot of blacks or dark blues. The exception to this would be the characters of Mr Rochester and Adele. But will have no problem following the storyline as whole.

If you have little to no useful vision: I think here, there will be some elements of the show you will unfortunately miss out on including some dance and minimal physical scenes accompanied by sound effects. But you will be able to follow the story no problem. Here is an Audio Described performance and Touch Tour on the 10th September 2026, should you wish to have that available to you.

‘Jane Eyre’ is running at The Mercury Theatre in Colchester from 26th September until 10th  October 2026, and then will go on a UK Tour! Information and tickets for The Mercury Theatre will be here. But do check to see if it is coming to theatre near you soon! This is one not to be missed!  

Until Next Time,

The VI Critic

Accessibility Review of ‘Jellyfish’ Written By Jess Coppen-Gardner

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Hi everyone and welcome back to another review. However this one is a little different! This time I got to head to the capital London to go and see ‘Jellyfish’ at The Omnibus Theatre in Clapham Common!

‘Jellyfish’ written by Jess Coppen-Gardner and directed by Lillith Freeman tells the story of twins Nova (played by Jess Coppen-Gardne) and T (played by Teddy Walker) who are both celebrating their one hundred birthday. Both social media influencers and believe they have found a way to live for eternity. Whilst taking part on a live streamed interview during their celebrations it is discovered that all is not quite as it seems…

As I haven’t been to this theatre before. I wanted to briefly touch on the building and the environment. This is very much a small theatre, with a small auditorium, and a small cafe/bar alongside it. When entering the theatre at the beginning. I had to walk through the outside setting of the cafe/bar. As this was in the high of the UK summer was a little problematic as it was difficult to fully see where the path was. Both during the afternoon but especially at night when leaving. The cafe/bar had some okay lighting in the afternoon with plenty of seats and tables. But unless you wanted to sit on the outer tables of the inside. Once it starts to fill up, getting around or being guided by someone might be a little tricky. I then later discovered there was a main entrance to the theatre that was separate from the cafe/bar. which I found to be easier. After speaking to the box office staff. They offered to reserve me a seat on the front row. Which I thought was a nice touch. But I’m sure if had asked they would have also have happy obliged and done this. 

The actual auditorium itself is more of a studio like space, with rows of seats leading up and a front row on the floor. Unfortunately I can’t comment on the leg room of the raised setting as I didn’t experience it. But from other experiences previously, this might be something you want to keep in mind. The lighting as a walked in was on the darker side, so I would be careful when walking up the steps also. But the staff could have not been more helpful, friendly and more than happy to accommodate.   

When I read about about this show, and read that it was a dark comedy I’ll be honest I was quite fifty fifty as to whether or not I was going to like this show. But I came out of the auditorium having thoroughly enjoyed it, both Jess and Teddy’s comedic timing was on point and the characters themselves are designed to be comedic also. The characters themselves are influencers but came across massively exaggerated for effect which I loved! 

The set itself was very simple, with a white backdrop, two white boxes for chairs, a white wooden table and a plastic flooring for practical reasons. Through the scene changes there where colourful projects of red and blue liquid, with music playing. These had very low lighting but never lasted for longer for a minute. The lighting was simple with a warm white light for most of the scenes. Aside from two karaoke scenes which the lighting is more colourful and flashing briefly for a few minutes. The story was quite easy to follow, there were a few parts of the story that I maybe didn’t get the reference of or didn’t understand, but that didn’t take away at all for this amazing story.     

On arrival, I was greeted by the director Lillith Freeman and she showed me to a table with the props from the show, even some slime which was a new one for me. She expertly explain each prop and where about it would appear in the show without giving anything way. This was great as this going in I could then sometimes recognise some of them and think “we’re at this part in the show now” so even though full audio description wasn’t available. It really helped trying to follow the show’s timeline of events. What I found amazing is that the writer Jess Coppen-Gardner had incorporated small elements of Audio Description into parts of the show which was lovely to see! I would love it if more and more shows would do this more. 

Overall then, I loved this show and it genuinely surprised me! The story was simple, but enjoyable. Was certainly dark in story but also physical space. But it was beautifully made accessible for people with sight loss! I would love to see a fully Audio Description performance in the future. The Touch Tour was also really good! I would be really nice if the cast and the set and space could be Incorporated into the Touch Tour, maybe if the cast could come out in costume within the actual space of the show  to hopefully allow people with Sight Loss to get as a full of an experience as possible! Ultimately this show was amazing, and thoroughly enjoyed my time there. I highly recommend it, and I can’t wait to see what this show, the writer, director, and the production company have coming in the future! 

Accessibly Rating: 

If you have useful or limited vision: Overall I think, you should be fine, providing you sit on the first two roles. Both actors wear very different costumes to each other, as well as having very distinctive voices from one another, so following the story should be a problem. There are dark moments, but only really during the scene changes. The karaoke scene do have some flashing colourful lighting so might be something to watch out for if that sort of thing bothers you. 

If you have little to no vision: I feel the touch tour is must here. As well as the show notes provided that go into much more detail. Physically you aren’t missing anything here in terms of story. There are a couple of loud moments. Only one I can think of. Most of the actual story is dialogue driven, so you won’t miss anything. But if you would like some description throughout the show, do take a companion with you. 

‘Jellyfish’ written by Jess Coppen-Gardner, directed by Lillith Freeman and starring Jess Coppen-Gardner and Teddy Waker is running at the Edinburgh Fringe from 5th – 31st August 2026! Go and get your tickets now so you can say ‘I was there at the start…!” All the the information of the show will be linked here. As well as the show notes, will be linked here! 

Until Next Time,

The VI Critic. 

Trailer:

Accessibility Review of Mischief’s ‘Thespians’

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Hi everyone and welcome to another review!

This time I got the chance to go and review ‘Thespians’, written by Mischief’s Jonathan Sayer (‘The Play That Goes Wrong!’, ‘Peter Pan Goes Wrong’ and ‘A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong’), with music and lyrics by Ed Zanders.

Set in 534 BC in ancient Greece on a small island with a tiny community of five, nothing ever happens… until one day it does! Thespians, his sister Poly, Adonis — the head of the guard — and the elders are forced to travel to Atlantis for a deadly prayer competition. But suddenly, everything begins to change.

Going into this show, I had medium expectations as this was from the same company behind ‘The Play That Goes Wrong’, as well as their popular TV shows. So when I got invited to this by Mercury Theatre, I was very interested to see what they would do with a musical comedy.

A colorful stage musical scene with actors dressed in ancient Greek-style costumes. In the center, a young light-skinned man with short blond hair stands on a round marble-patterned platform. He wears a white sleeveless tunic with a deep V-neck, gold trim, and a wide brown and gold belt. His arms are raised enthusiastically, mouth open in mid-song or shout, and he wears brown sandals and gold wrist bracers. On his left and right are two light-skinned performers in matching costumes: pink sleeveless jumpsuits with split skirts, gold belts, metallic gold shoulder pieces, dark purple capes, and bronze-style helmets with crests. Each holds a tall spear upright. The performer on the left poses with one arm extended and knees bent in a dance stance. The one on the right has an animated expression, mouth open, with the spear angled slightly forward. Behind them, slightly to the right, stands a person with short dark hair, glasses, and medium skin tone wearing a bronze muscle armor chest plate, red knee-length skirt panels, and an orange cape, watching the central trio. Further right is a woman with medium-brown skin and curly shoulder-length hair, dressed in a light blue, flowing, off-the-shoulder gown with layered ruffles. A bow is in her hand and a quiver of arrows hangs at her side. The set is designed like a marble Greek temple, with pale blue and pink marbled columns, arches, and a balcony rail across the back. The floor has an ornate circular design in blues and golds with stylized patterns. The background lighting is purple, giving the scene a fantastical, mythological atmosphere.

From the very start of the show, I could tell it was going to be a little tricky visually, as most of the cast’s costumes — aside from Adonis and ‘The Tyrant’ — were very similar in colour to the set. Thankfully, the lighting helped with this to a degree, but it is definitely something to consider. The same also applies to some of the moving set pieces.

With this also being a musical, I first need to say that the singing performances from everyone were phenomenal, as were the songs themselves. However, after the show I did feel that I could have done with a little more story and slightly fewer songs, as there were moments where multiple musical numbers happened one after another. They were great songs, but I personally wanted a bit more time for the story to breathe between them.

I loved the entire cast! Marc Pickering (Adonis) delivered an exciting comedy performance, and I definitely got my fix of classic Mischief humour. Claire-Marie Hall (Poly) had an excellent singing voice, and honestly I would have loved one more solo from her alongside the one she already has in the show. I also really enjoyed Rhys Taylor as ‘The Tyrant’. Their performance and comedy style reminded me a lot of Anthony Stuart-Hicks. But genuinely, the whole cast were outstanding.

Colorful stage performance with four actors standing on marble-like platforms. They are in mid-pose with arms raised, as if celebrating or singing. All four wear matching blue tunic-style costumes tied with light-colored rope belts, and theatrical half-masks with exaggerated noses and expressions, reminiscent of ancient Greek comedy masks. The center actor’s tunic is shorter, showing bare legs with sandals; the others wear longer, robe-length tunics. Behind them is a large curtain painted with a night sky: deep blue background, clouds, yellow stars, and a crescent moon framed by draped blue “fabric” along the top. On both sides of the stage are cream-colored stone-like columns and arches suggesting an ancient Greek temple or theater. Tall vertical banners hang on each side, reddish-orange with the words “THE DIONYSIA” written vertically. Warm stage lighting from above creates a golden glow on the actors and platforms, with some purple and blue light on the backdrop. At the very bottom edge, the tops of a few audience members’ heads are just visible, facing the stage.

So onto the accessibility ratings:

If you have limited to no vision:
I would say that, because there is limited physical comedy, you will likely have a lot of fun with this show. There is also a Touch Tour and an Audio Described performance on Saturday 23rd May, which is a fantastic addition and really helps give a fuller understanding of the show as a whole. However, if you cannot get tickets for the audio described performance, I still think you would have a wonderful time, and I would highly recommend this show.

If you have limited to useful vision:
As mentioned before, the colour palette of the show is made up of very pale tones, which may make parts of the production difficult visually. I would recommend sitting in Row C or closer if possible, to help get the best view of the action and facial expressions.

‘Thespians’ is running at Mercury Theatre from Saturday 9th until 23rd May 2026!

If you love anything that Mischief has done in the past, then you will absolutely love this too. It’s a great night out, full of laughs and plenty of comedy chaos! You can find information and tickets on the Mercury Theatre website.

Until next time,
The VI Critic.

Accessibility Review of Tassa Deparis’s ‘Swallow The Lake’

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Hi everyone, and welcome back to another review!

I was kindly invited to the Mercury Theatre to see their new Original production, Swallow The Lake — a heartfelt and thought-provoking piece that stayed with me long after the curtain fell.

The story follows Joanna, a young woman who’s spent much of her life abroad due to her father’s career as an army chef. Constantly on the move, she’s never truly had a place to call home. We watch her journey unfold from a curious child to a grown woman searching for belonging — but the question lingers: has she really found happiness?

Written by Tassa Deparis, Swallow The Lake is a touching exploration of childhood innocence, growing pains, and self-discovery. It delves into family tensions, teenage friendships, and the heartbreaks that shape who we become — themes that almost anyone can relate to.

A woman sits barefoot on the edge of a wooden table, surrounded by tall golden reeds that fill the background. She has long curly dark hair and a warm, joyful expression, looking slightly upwards with a soft smile. She’s wearing a loose, cream-coloured blouse with full sleeves and light beige trousers. The lighting is gentle and warm, giving the scene an autumnal, golden glow. The overall feeling is calm, intimate, and slightly nostalgic — as if she’s lost in a happy memory or daydream.

The production takes place in the Mercury Studio, an intimate venue that brings the audience remarkably close to the action. It’s a setting that allows for a real emotional connection between performers and audience members — though, as I discovered, it’s not the most generous when it comes to legroom! Still, the closeness makes the experience all the more immersive and, for many, more accessible.

Lydia Bakeelmun gives a standout performance, showcasing remarkable range and emotional depth. Her portrayal of Joanna is both tender and powerful — by the end, I genuinely felt for her. Matthew Jewson delivers an equally strong performance opposite her, and together they bring a wonderful authenticity to their characters. Watching them transform seamlessly from childhood to adulthood was truly captivating.

Supporting them, Liam Bull and Krupa Pattani shine in multiple roles throughout the show. Both demonstrate an impressive versatility, shifting between characters with ease. It’s a skill that’s much harder than it looks, yet they make it appear effortless.

A man crouches on top of the same wooden table, holding a long stick in his hands and leaning slightly forward as if pretending to draw in the sand or poke at something on the ground. He has short hair and a thoughtful, focused expression, with a hint of curiosity or playfulness. He’s wearing a short-sleeved blue T-shirt and beige shorts. Behind him, the same tall golden reeds create a natural, rustic backdrop, softly lit in warm tones. The lighting feels gentle and earthy, suggesting an outdoor or beach-like setting.

The staging is simple but beautifully effective. Tall beach grass borders parts of the stage, while soft, semi-transparent curtains — gently lit from behind — help define each new scene. A few benches, chairs, and a table are all that’s needed to bring the world to life, letting the performances take centre stage.

Most of the show is dialogue-driven, with minimal physical action or bright lighting. The atmosphere remains soft and natural throughout — calm, reflective, and intimate. However, I was disappointed to find there was no touch tour or audio description available. While some may argue that this production doesn’t strictly require audio description, I believe access options should always be available for those who need them. Even a short touch tour to explore the set and costumes would have been a welcome addition.

For those with useful vision, you can choose how close you sit without worrying about harsh lighting or sudden flashes. If you have little or no vision, the show is still easy to follow thanks to its strong script and clear dialogue. A few small visual moments — like someone pretending to chase chickens or draw in the sand — might be missed, but they don’t detract from the overall experience.

Overall, Swallow The Lake is a must-see for its outstanding performances and emotionally resonant storytelling.It’s an intimate, beautifully acted piece that captures the highs and lows of growing up and finding your place in the world.

Swallow The Lake by Tassa Deparis runs at the Mercury Theatre, Colchester, from 8th to 11th October 2025. For more details and ticket information, visit the Mercury Theatre’s website which you can find by clicking here!

Until next time,
The VI Critic

A striking underwater image featuring a young woman submerged in clear blue water. Her eyes are closed, and she appears calm and peaceful, with small air bubbles surrounding her face. Her curly dark hair floats gently around her head, fanning out in soft waves. She holds her hands delicately near her face, fingertips touching her cheeks and chin, as if caught in a moment of stillness or reflection. The water gives her skin a smooth, glowing look, and the light filters down in a serene, dreamlike way. To the left of the image, in large pale cream-coloured text, are the words: “SWALLOW THE LAKE” and beneath in smaller text: “BY TASSA DEPARIS.”