The Member of the Wedding - TNT

Though awkwardly structured, the over-long first part of US novelist Carson McCullers' 1950 stage adaptation of her own novel successfully evokes the frustration of a hot, Deep South summer before exploding into the traumatic events that crowd the shorter post-interval section. Flora Spencer-Longhurst captures the tantrum-prone isolation of 12-year-old tomboy Frankie who doesn't seem to fit in and decides the solution is to tag along on her brother's honeymoon. Theo Stevenson proves himself a little scene-stealer as John, the cousin half her age who likes strutting around in fancy dress. But the real star is Portia, who gives a stabilising performance as Berenice, the much-married, black cook and surrogate mother who understands not only the emotions raging within her pubescent charge but also that their lives are on the verge of significant change.
Young Vic, The Cut, SE1 (020-7922 2922). Until October 20, £21.50-£24.50