REVIEW: JANE EYRE (Richmond Theatre)
Taking a classic story and turning it into a piece of theatre is difficult at the best of times. Turning it into a ballet however, is even more challenging. This April marked Charlotte Brontë’s 200th birthday and Northern Ballet’s version of Jane Eyre is as fine a tribute as any. For anyone who does not […]
REVIEW: VOYAGER (New Diorama Theatre)
Space holds as much excitement, mystery and awe for us now as it did forty years ago, and our interstellar explorations still represent the pinnacle of human achievement. In their new play Voyager, Idle Motion present their musings about the innate human desire for exploration. Using an effective blend of dialogue, physicality and clever staging, […]
REVIEW: THE DARK ROOM (Udderbelly Festival)
“You awake to find yourself in a dark room!” Throughout the show, this line echoes several times around the festival tent, 400 voices chanting in unison. The show is led by our gaming M.C. John Robertson, decked out in lights, buttons and spiked shoulder pads, and we are well taken care of. Robertson is charismatic […]
REVIEW: ROMEO AND JULIET (Garrick Theatre)
The Branagh Theatre Company’s year-long residency at the Garrick has been a critical and box office triumph. But this penultimate production in the season, while being far from a disaster, has unfortunately — at least artistically — hit something of a bump in the road. Branagh returns to the first Shakespeare play he ever directed […]
REVIEW: JEKYLL & HYDE (Old Vic Theatre)
Choreographer Drew McOnie is a seasoned name at the West End, but “Jekyll & Hyde” marks his first own full length drama at the Old Vic Theatre. There is not much going on in the life of botanist Dr Jekyll besides taking care of his meager flower shop in London’s raunchy 50s. At nighttime he […]
REVIEW: Ms. A Song Cycle – Concept Recording
Multiple Sclerosis, or MS as it is more commonly known, is not a condition I knew much about – this was until I listened to a new musical song concept – Ms. A Song Cycle by lyricist Rory Sherman. This is the 30th album release from SimG records that has been created in aid of […]
REVIEW: KENNY MORGAN (Arcola Theatre)
The Arcola hosts the world premiere of Kenny Morgan; a new play by Mike Poulton, Tony nominated for the Broadway productions of Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies. Lucy Bailey directs this play based on the real life events believed to have inspired Terence Rattigan’s famous play, The Deep Blue Sea. In a letter […]
REVIEW: WE WAIT IN JOYFUL HOPE (Theatre 503)
Playwright Brian Mullin was selected from over 800 applicants to join the 503Five Writer-in-Residence scheme where We Wait in Joyful Hope was commissioned. His play was inspired by the story of his own aunt, a Franciscan nun who, inspired by the reforms initiated by Pope John XXIII, took over a tenement building in Hell’s Kitchen […]
REVIEW: SQUIRM (Bread & Roses Theatre)
Squirm is a new play written by Serafina Cusack, currently working with the Royal Court on their forthcoming Open Court Season. It has a short run at the Bread & Roses Theatre in Clapham before transferring to Edinburgh in August for the Fringe Festival. The show is Rory’s confession to his ex-girlfriend. He recounts his […]
REVIEW: THIS IS LIVING (Trafalgar Studio 2)
This Is Living is a new play by Liam Borrett about love, loss and saying goodbye. It presents the relationship between the hilarious and immensely likeable Alice (Tamla Kari) and the quietly passionate Michael (Michael Socha). The play opens with the minutes immediately after Alice’s death by drowning. Michael returns to the scene of the […]