Rika’s Rooms, Playground Theatre Review

Written by Bronagh for Theatre & Tonic

Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review.

Content Warnings: Discriminative language, references to racism and strong language

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It’s Gail Louw Season at the Playground Theatre, a season of exclusive world premieres at the West London theatre. Rika’s Rooms is the latest show to premiere, a compelling tale of memory and trauma. Rika’s Rooms is based on Louw’s own mother’s life and brought to life by Emma Wilkinson Wright in a one woman show which should not be missed. 

Rika is sent from Nazi Germany to Palestine, then moves to South Africa at the height of apartheid, ending up in England as a 76 year old with dementia. We travel through time with Rika, from when she is sent to Palestine and then to the kibbutz where she meets up with her sister Edith up until her living in a care home, and later when she passes away. We go back and forth in time, going on a journey through Rika’s mind and the experiences that she has had, the people she once knew. Dementia acts the backdrop to Rika’s Rooms, visual fragments of memory visible throughout from photographs to clothing to suitcases.

Emma Wilkinson Wright puts on an incredible performance, and really does ‘become’ Rika. She is mesmerising to watch. Her body language and voice adapt to whichever Rika she is playing, past or present, as well as the other people in her life. The trauma experienced by Rika bubbles to the surface, and we saw the raw emotion felt by Rika through the guttural screams, the shrieking and shouting. Emma Wilkinson Wright also delivers a very witty performance too, especially as younger Rika arriving at the kibbutz, ‘I might want to be a socialist if I knew what it meant’ and ‘I really don’t want to wear big fat Yudit’s knickers’. The performance really is special to watch.

The set is simple, and set up as two different rooms. One room has a bed with photographs on the walls, the other room has a little table and chairs with some luggage on the floor too. The simplicity means we can totally concentrate on Rika as she transitions between the two rooms, as we watch her transition between characters. The bedroom feels homely and comfortable at times, then starker and more clinical depending on what time in Rika’s life we are looking at. Over 90 minutes we see Rika as a young teenager moving from her home country to a freedom fighter to a scared, paranoid older woman. Throughout she is navigating through love, war, sadness and later on, complete paranoia that her secret is going to come to light. I will say, I was worried that we wouldn’t get to hear what the secret was, but this arrived in Act Two and was well worth the wait with how it was told to us.

Rika’s Rooms completely and utterly delivered. This is a must see for anybody who wants to watch a very moving, very clever and very special performance. I urge anybody who can to get tickets before the run ends on the 10th March.

Until 10th March at the Playground Theatre

★★★★★