After Little Revolution interrogated ideas of community and how it divides us, Thornton Wilder’s Our Town moves into the Almeida after its successful run in New York, and examines the everyday experience that unites us. Wilder’s play tells the affectionate story of a small town growing up and dying together and the play shines a subtle but hugely effective light on life and what it means to really live it.

Our Town tells the story of an average town’s citizens as depicted through their everyday lives. In Grover’s Corner the mundane is treasured and it’s in the little events and relations between citizens that life’s beauty unfolds. Thornton Wilder felt that something had gone wrong with the theatre of his time and Our Town therefore uses meta-theatrical devises to provoke the audience’s imagination into alertness and thereby forces us to engage in the creation of the world of the play. Using the role of Stage Manager to break the fourth wall and directly interact with the audience strips the play back and involves us in their world, cleverly challenging the realism of the play and driving our minds into gear. Director David Cromer (Stage Manager) has incredible rapport with the audience and captivates us throughout the play as we are guided through the lives of Grover’s Corner.

The big cast work generously together and commit to the demanding staging of the play; there are no props, everything is carefully mimed and only two tables and a couple of chairs provide them with a defined set. Kate Dickie (Mrs Webb) and Anna Francolini (Mrs Gibbs) create a very honest and mesmerising foundation for the characters’ world, and the rest of the cast beautifully supports them with subtlety and warmth. With a set as simple as this incredible acting is required, and the performances are captivating.

Stripping the play of any invasive design, we are naturally tuned in to the truth of the performances and their simplicity. It’s a delicate, heart-warming insight into everyday life, and as we move into the third act it’s as if you are pulled into the world of the play by magnifying force. Even as a regular theatregoer I have never experienced an audience gasp as a result of total commitment and engagement in the play like this, and as Our Town received this very genuine response it became clear to me just how special and loving this play really is. David Cromer and set designer Stephen Dobay have created something that is magical in its simple form – slowly easing us through we don’t realise quite how effective it is until it is over. And then you suddenly understand the form and forgive them for confusing you in the first place. It’s a play about life, and it’s a play that warms – like a big hug, which is much appreciated this time of year.

Our Town is playing at the Almeida Theatre until 29 November. For more information and tickets, see the Almeida Theatre website. Photo by Marc Brenner.