Three Poems by Alistair McDowall. The Jerwood Downstairs, the Royal Court Theatre, Sloane Square, London SW1 to 17 June 2023. 4****. William Russell.

Kate O'Flynn is magnificent in these three monologues by Alistair McDowall - he calls them poems - of which the best comes last.As a feat of simply learning the texts it has to be admired but it is the way she deals with them that makes this one of those enthralling evenings in the theatre. In Northleigh 1940, the first one, she is a woman trapped alone in a claustrophobic room during an air raid. Lying in a Morrison shelter she reflects on her life and her relationship with her father. In the second, Stereo, Flynn at least gets a release from having to learn most of the text as again, alone, the woman becomes obsessed with a mysterious brown stain on the wall of her room - Flynn's voice is mostly recorded - and starts to see a second self living there. In the third, and the best directed by Featherstone, A While Life in One Breath, she takes us through an entire life starting as a baby learning to speak, through childhood, her teenage years right to the end - it is an epic journey. The preceding monologues can puzzle, leave you wondering just what is going on in spite of the skills of the performer but in this one, seen at the Court three years ago on its own, everything comes together perfectly. For once the standing ovation at the end was completely deserved. Flynn is amazing.

Cast - Kate O'Flynn.

Directors - Vicky Featherstone & Sam Pritchard; Designer - Marie Hensel; Lighting Designer - Elliot Griggs; Sound Artist & Composer - Melanie Wilson; Video Designer - Lewis den Hertog; Production Photographs - Manuel Harlan.