REVIEW: July 15th to ...

July 15th to... ©️Stephanie Chu

July 15th to… is a one-woman physical theatre show exploring the lived experience of bipolar disorder. Through fragmented storytelling, movement and sound, Peiyi Zhong presents the story of Ella, following her experiences from moving to London, learning to scuba dive, to the death of her grandmother and making her art exhibition.

Sound is central to the performance. The ticking of a clock and the sound of breathing become recurring elements, helping to establish transitions between moments and contributing to the rhythm of the storytelling. The fragmented structure appears to reflect Ella’s internal experience and the instability of her mental state. While the intention behind this approach is understandable, it also makes the narrative difficult to follow at times.

There is, in fact, a recognisable progression within Ella’s story. With so much to communicate within an hour, however, some of these stories are introduced without being explored in much depth. The fragmented narrative style, while conceptually interesting, consequently becomes one of the production’s limitations. Peiyi also plays multiple characters throughout the performance. Some of the characters and relationships in the story seem difficult to fully communicate through a single performer switching between roles. In some scenes, this becomes distracting, particularly when compared with the moments in which she simply sits on the floor and addresses the audience directly. In these sections, her storytelling feels more immediate and controlled.

The stage design also feels somewhat disconnected from the geographical shifts within the story, which takes place across several locations. At the same time, the sparse set appears to reflect Ella’s mental state rather than representing each physical location realistically. The lighting design is similarly restrained. A small cube on stage left appears to change its lighting according to Ella’s emotional state, although its relatively small size makes the effect difficult to perceive from a distance. There are also moments when the sound appears to overpower Peiyi’s voice, while at other points the relationship between the sound and performance feels slightly out of sync.

Despite being described as physical theatre, the production is largely driven by text and storytelling. This creates a slight expectation gap. Although there are moments where movement becomes particularly effective. During the scuba-diving sequence, for example, Peiyi moves across the stage as though suspended underwater, creating a sense of freedom and weightlessness through her body. One particularly enjoyable detail is Peiyi’s use of the Chengdu dialect when portraying her grandmother in Ella’s imagination. It adds specificity and personality to the character, while also bringing a sense of cultural identity into the story.

July 15th to… is a brave attempt to explore a complex personal experience through fragmented narrative and physical performance. The production demonstrates a clear interest in experimenting with form, but the relationship between text, movement, sound and storytelling could be developed further. Exploring how much of Ella’s story needs to be told through words, and how much could instead be communicated physically, may allow the production to find a more distinctive theatrical language.

★★

For more information, please visit: https://www.thespaceuk.com/shows/2026/july-15th-to

Credits

Producer: Wangjiayu Chu (Stephanie)
Playwright: Juno Chen
Director: Angelina Voznesenskaia
Movement Director: Liping Jiang
Composer: Xinyu Lu & Nik Sheva
Set Designer: Jie Li
Sound Designer: Hanyun Huang
Light Designer: Yaqi Sun
Production Assistant: Rulin Ma
Cast: Peiyi Zhong
Creative Consultant & Movement Dramaturgist: Ru Lawrence

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