THE PROMISE at the Trafalgar Studios

Penelope Skinner’s new version of Aleksei Arbuzov’s THE PROMISE has opened at the Trafalgar Studios as part of the Donmar Warehouse’s annual residency at the venue, in a production directed by Alex Sims.

In war-ravaged Leningrad, 1942, three teenagers are thrown together by history. In the years following the siege allegiances shift, love falters and their vow of solidarity is stretched to its limits.

The reviews say:-
[The script has been] overhauled and sharpened by Penelope Skinner … the Donmar Trafalgar season is off to a flying start
Whatsonstage ****

Penelope Skinner provides a lively new English version
Financial Times ****

Aleksei Arbuzov’s 1965 play is little known here but, adapted by Penelope Skinner, it emerges fresh and fascinating … I had not expected to be so moved.
Times ****

[Penelope Skinner] certainly succeeds in bringing a truthfulness to the adolescent banter and a realism to the bodily horrors which cuts through the schmaltz and occasional whiffs of propaganda.
Time Out ***

The production plays in Studio 2 at the Trafalgar Studios until Saturday 8th December and tickets can be bought here.