THE PLAYGROUND

Narrator Elizabeth Knowelden perfectly portrays three well-to-do families who are brought together by their children's study group. The dissection of these flawed, very different married couples during a hot summer in London is fulfilled by Knowelden's knowing tone and deft handling of characters with a variety of accents and ages. Stressors strain the adults' relationships as the children create secret games that end with Knowelden's heartbreaking description of devastating violence and an unthinkable outcome. Self-involved adults recognize too late the results of their egotism as the families uncover one secret after another. A tone of desperation seeps into Knowelden's performance as the damage done to everyone involved over the summer is revealed. R.O. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine [Published: MARCH 2020]