REVIEW: TRIBE (London Theatre Workshop) ★★★
“What would Bear Grylls do?” Tribe is a new play about Scouting and its relevance for the youth of today, written by Brandon Force, Matthew McCray and Rowena Russell. It’s 2012 and a group of Scouts are spending the weekend preparing for a competition against other troops, to challenge their Scouting skills. This was the […]
REVIEW: CLEAN SLATE (Courtyard Theatre) ★★★★
Clean Slate began as Table Rase, written by Catherine Chabot and produced in Montreal in 2015. The play won the award for best new writing in Quebec in 2016. The first English language staging of the play comes to the Courtyard Theatre in Hoxton in a production by Trip & Guts Theatre, a company that […]
REVIEW: HIR (Bush Theatre) ★★★
The satirical family drama ’HIR’ opens for its first European run at Bush Theatre. US Marine Isaac returns home after three years. There, father Arnold has suffered a debilitating stroke. Sibling Maxine is transitioning into brother Max. And at the centre of it all, mother Paige, who has turned the tables and spits on everything […]
REVIEW: THE KITE RUNNER (Playhouse Theatre) ★★★
Ever since being published in 2003, Khaled Hosseini’s book The Kite Runner has gone from strength to strength, having stayed as the number one New York Times bestseller for over two years, being adapted in 2007 as a film of the same name along with being turned into a graphic novel. Now returning to London by […]
REVIEW: BAT OUT OF HELL – THE MUSICAL (London Coliseum) ★★★★
Forty years after it originally shook the world, Jim Steinman’s album (made famous by Meatloaf) gets the Musical/Rock Opera treatment it was originally intended for. Following a lot of controversy, there was much anticipation as to whether it would stay true to its filthy roots, or sell out and become a frothy mix of nonsense. […]
REVIEW: TRAINSPOTTING LIVE (Curve Leicester) ★★★★★
Choose Life. Choose a job… Choose Trainspotting Live at Curve Leicester this week. I believe the hallmark of a good production is one you still find yourself talking about long afterwards and – whether you love it or hate it – I guarantee this production will leave you doing just that. This is the second […]
REVIEW: THESE TREES ARE MADE OF BLOOD (Arcola Theatre) ★★★★★
These Trees Are Made of Blood at the Arcola Theatre is a delicious and frightening blend of Cabaret and Political Theatre. It tells the story of Argentina’s dirty war during the 1970’s and was inspired by director Amy Draper’s year in Buenos Aires and the ‘Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo’. We begin at the […]
REVIEW: I KNOW YOU OF OLD (The Hope Theatre) ★★★★
GOLEM! theatre company’s purpose is to take great, already famous, plays and re-imagine them. This they do in clever, interesting and entertaining ways. I Know You Of Old is a, modern dress, play, which is a fresh view on one of Shakespeare’s most popular comedies, Much Ado About Nothing. Except for a few insignificant phrases, […]
REVIEW: A. I. LOVE YOU (Theatre N16) ★★★★
It’s not often that an audience has a chance to be a part of a play’s structural direction, but with Melanie Anne Ball‘s A. I. Love You, onlookers play the role of observer, critic and jury in this emotionally-charged, deeply moving piece. Two characters introduce themselves as Adam and April, a couple who have been […]
REVIEW: The English Heart (Etcetera Theatre) ★★★★
The English Heart is an excellent play, sexy as hell and very funny. This is Matthew Campling‘s latest comedy, after last year’s ‘Abominations’ at the Etcetera Theatre, which received multi-four star reviews and was Best New Play nominated. He is also one of the nicest and funniest people you could want to meet. Boston, Lincolnshire, where […]