Blurred Lines - The Shed, the National Theatre

Blurred Lines is NOT a play about the most controversial song of the decade, but it is about gender politics and how the media has contributed to the debate. So what do we know about this new creation? Not much at this stage- except that there are several good reasons why you should go and see it.

The play’s title is provocative: it shares its name with American recording artist Robin Thicke’s controversial single with lyrics including 'I know you want it', which has been widely criticized for encouraging sex without consent. 

The National is billing the play as a ‘blistering journey through the minefield of contemporary gender politics. With songs’. We hope that it will follow in the footsteps of the hit musical play London Road , directed by Rufus Norris for the National, about a community reeling after the murder of several women. In this, the songs provided an interesting contextual distance in the light of the heavy subject matter.

Blurred Lines has an all-female, eight-strong cast with great credentials, including the award-winning actresses Ruth Sheen (Another Year by Mike Leigh), Sinead Matthews (The Wild Duck , The Master and the Margarita) and Bryony Hannah (The Children’s Hour, War Horse).

This is the last production to be shown in The Shed, the temporary venue which has been used during the renovation of the smallest space at the National, the Cottesloe. The building is exquisitely designed, with its octagonal seating plan and intimate atmosphere, and we are sad to say goodbye to it.

Last but not least, the team behind the show: there is an exciting collaboration between Nick Payne, well-known for his recent hit West End hit, Constellations, and Carrie Cracknell, associate director at the Royal Court and director of an excellent A Doll’s Houseby Henrik Ibsen. A man and a woman, a writer and director, both successful and in their thirties, give us their take on where women stand in today's society. Don’t miss out: this one should be innovative and thought-provoking. 

Tickets: £12 and £20