Too Far To Walk, by Mary Morris, was first presented in Australia in 1994 but this production at the King's Head is its London premiere. What a gem it is. Two sisters, separated for fifty years, are finally reunited and as they struggle to come to terms with the reality of what happened we see their past lives re-enacted by their younger selves. 
      Clarissa (a wonderfully drab Prunella Scales) has spent those intervening years in a mental hospital utterly miserable and constantly being told she does not have a sister, while Olivia has moved to Australia and apparently forgotten that Clarissa ever existed. But when Clarissa is finally freed from the hospital and the social workers get involved they are forced to face up to the truth and relive all the painful memories. 
      Mary Morris was inspired by an article in a West Australian newspaper and the bones of the story are true. There was a real Clarissa and she was put in a mental hospital when her mother died because there was no room anywhere else. But this is a purely fictional drama. Because of the intimacy of the King's Head it felt very much as though we were spying through the fourth wall. The sense of period and place are beautifully evoked both by the acting and the lighting. 
      It is a minor disappointment that there is some confusion with the characters. The programme does not have a cast list as such and James Livingstone plays both the English and the Australian social worker. Although he is admirable in both parts, the only real difference is the accent and it was therefore not clear to me at first that he was two different people. But perhaps I am being pedantic and he was meant to be a universal figure. 
      On the opposite side of the coin, having the younger selves on stage at the same time, slipping from the sisters' memory to flashback, works perfectly. Susan Harrison as the young Clarissa is completely mesmerising. I have not seen a performance from any actor for a very long time that has impressed me as much. Full credit to author, director, designers and actors: I laughed and I cried, which has always been my measure of a successful night at the theatre. 
      The King's Head has always had a reputation for good drama. What a pity if, as we were informed before the performance, it really is to lose its grant. London needs more theatre like this not less.
Francine Brody