Review by Giada
Tickets were gifted in return for an honest review
The Wanderers belongs to a genre I usually keep at least five feet away from. But if romantic drama is, at its core, all about the writing (the only way to truly connect with the characters and their development is through dialogue), then it’s easy to understand why the main reason for the success of this production lies in Anna Ziegler’s brilliant script.
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| Photo by Mark Senior |
In the 1970s, Esther and Schmuli, a young Orthodox Jewish couple, are newly married and trying to survive in a city that moves faster than they can keep up with. They wrestle with community expectations, religious fundamentalism, and the pressure of living by rules that often clash with personal aspiration.
Fast-forward forty years, and just a few blocks, and we meet Sophie, who embodies everything Esther once dared to dream of becoming. Yet, despite her apparent freedom, she finds herself trapped in a new kind of cage: a husband, Abe, searching for intimacy outside their marriage, a book she’s struggling to write, and the weight of family obligations pressing on her.
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| Photo by Mark Senior |
And then there are the men, fighting internal wars brought on by the women around them, who act as forces of movement and change. In the end, it’s them who end up being transformed the most.
The cast delivers excellent performances. The acting feels raw and refined at once, rendering every struggle, secret, and high-stakes moment with honesty and depth. What hooked me most were the universal questions about yearning and purpose that the play raises. They ring true across generations, time, and culture.
Igor Golyak’s visionary direction elevates an already astonishing story, giving it a visual language that feels elegant, poetic. Dreamlike. His precise balance of elements (light, sound, movement) creates a mesmerising composition. The use of mirrors and boards, where characters draw and reflect, adds a dynamic layer to the storytelling and intersects the two stories in visually striking ways.
As sceptical as I was, The Wanderers truly moved me. Tenderness, honesty, and courage flow through this piece. It’s a rare kind of theatre that lingers, one that reached chords deep within me.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Wanderers runs at Marylebone Theatre until Saturday 29th November 2025. Tickets are available from https://www.marylebonetheatre.com/productions/the-wanderers
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| Photo by Mark Senior |
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