Theatre Review: Paradise Tackles The Difficulties Of Growing Old Gracefully — londonist.com

Paradise, a play set in an attractive retirement home on a warm summer's day, has more to it than meets the eye. The sign upon entering "expect strong language — more information on enquiry" is in itself curious. But what starts off as a slow-paced comedy a bit afraid to push boundaries, becomes bittersweet when secrets threaten to be unearthed from the bucolic scene. Draped over chairs sipping gin from the bottle are septuagenarians Goose (Sara Kestelman) and Meakin (Geoffrey Freshwater). Like her name, insults from her old school friend the cantankerously campy Meakin are 'water off a duck's back'. When she broaches memories from their shared past though, he doesn't want to know. What he could have to hide and his ill-preparedness for change, form an interesting contrast between the pair.

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