When a show sets sail – The Gretchen Question is put on stage

A time-travelling odyssey needs a suitably provocative set, and designer E M Parry has put their best foot forwards with Melly Still and Max Barton’s The Gretchen Question, which is currently playing in Deptford. 

Everything must start with the location, and this production has got the perfect backdrop. Built next to the Thames at the Master Shipwright’s House in Deptford (which used to be the most important shipbuilding yard in the world), Parry’s stage incorporates sails, nearby greenery and a circular space to draw audience into a century-spanning narrative. 

The show dives into themes of environment, enterprise and economics, a cautionary tale that places past, present and future together in a whirligig of ideas.

The cast includes Yohanna Ephrem, Ryan Gerald, Katherine Manners, Lauren Moakes, Alex Mugnaioni, Al Nedjari and Christopher Saul, while music is by Second Body. It runs to 2 October.