REVIEW: Dead and Breathing @The Albany, London

A somber kaftan laden upper-class cancer patient, Carolyn (Lizan Mitchell), unashamedly bares all as she is bathed by working class (and transsexual) carer, Veronika (Kim Tatum aka Mzz Kimberley).

Chisa Hutchinson and Rebecca Atkinson-Lord’s Dead and Breathing brings two people together – one who has it all with no moral values and one who has nothing but her faith in Christianity – and explores what people are willing to do for what they want. In this case, spread across a lavish boudoir.

Mzz Kimberley is fresh off Transformation Street, an ITV documentary depicting patients going through gender reassignment. Dead and Breathing is certainly the perfect segway from the inspiring series and her ‘reach through to your heart’ kind of authenticity is what makes her character so believable.

This alongside Mitchell’s abrasive demeanour make for a remarkable dance between wrong and right, morals and wants. As Tatum’s character opens up about her struggles as a trans person, she presents a serene Mandella-like protest that defies the need for a ‘normal life’ – with courage and dignity completely intact.

Hutchinson and Atkinson-Lord make for a creatively distinct expression and it shines through in the production’s women-power-esque duo.

Dead and Breathing runs at the The Albany, Douglas Way, London SE8 4AG till March 3.

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Or call the box office: 020 8692 4446