Intimate Apparel

This is a story set in New York of 1905, pivoting around Black corset-maker, Esther (Samira Wiley). At 35, she has worked harder than anyone and lives as a tenant of Mrs Dickson (Nicola Hughes). Esther’s world is small and contained. She goes to church, makes beautiful corsets for women and goes to and from the fabric store, run by Mr Marks (Alex Waldmann). Esther is known for her work ethic and attention to detail. Like all of us, she has her dreams, imagining a beauty parlour, where women irrespective of name or skin colour can be beautiful. Above all else, she longs for romance.

When letters from across the world arrive at her door from labourer George Armstrong (Kadiff Kirwan), who works in the blistering sun, she thinks she might finally have a chance at love but there’s a catch. She cannot read. As a result, she enlists the help of Mayme (Faith Omole), a singer who has turned to prostitution, and Mrs Van Buren (Claudia Jolly) a regular client from the rich side of town. These letters come alive on the walls and floors of the stage with beautiful projections of handwriting, designed by Alex Berry and video projection by Gino Ricardo Green. This visual touch serves to make our connection with Esther even more intimate.

Double Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, Lynn Nottage and director, Lynette Linton go together like ribbon and lace. They previously worked together at The Donmar with productions of Sweat and Clyde’s. They say if you have got a good thing going, why stop? Linton seems to be able to pull apart each and every moment through the grace of Nottage’s writing, which is full of love, hope, pain — often all, just in one paragraph. Due to the current heatwave, the theatre feels exceptionally warm. Perhaps, because of this, the pacing seems to linger a beat too long in the first half but if this is to build up the world of Esther, it is totally worth it. If Act One serves to create the dream, Act Two breaks it apart.