REVIEW: SWEAT (Gielgud Theatre) ★★★★
Set in 2000 against a background of George Bush’s face flickering on screens, booming declarations of economic decline, Sweat is a play which examines industrial disloyalty and the red-hot cinders of resentment and desperation it leaves behind. Running a bar in Reading, Pennsylvania we meet Stan, a friendly ex-factory worker who had to give up […]
REVIEW: ANNIE (New Victoria Woking) ★★★★
“THE SUN’LL COME OUT TOMORROW, BET YOUR BOTTOM DOLLAR THAT TOMORROW, THERE’LL BE SUN” . Sorry Annie, but you owe me some dollars. A rain drenched journey to and from Woking’s New Victoria Theatre did not dampen mine or this touring cast of Annie The Musical’s spirits. Set in 1930s New York during the Great […]
REVIEW: The Pope (Royal & Derngate) ★★★★★
The world is changing. Attitudes have changed, as we move towards a society where everyone has the right to be themselves, without stigma: gay, straight, black, white, atheist, Christian… fundamentally we are all the same. Yet tradition is still important. And for an institution like the Church, which has been around for centuries and provides […]
REVIEW: Horrible Histories: Dreadful deaf (Bristol Old Vic) ★★★★
Deafinitely Theatre – the UK’s first professional deaf-launched and led theatre company, has joined forces with Birmingham Stage Company to present the world premiere of ‘Horrible Histories: Dreadful Deaf’, to create the first dedicated production for deaf children and their families. The show puts an overdue spotlight on the stories and culture of deaf people […]
REVIEW: GARRY (White Bear Theatre) ★★★
Graham Watts, director and producer of this “lost” play by prolific playwright Sophie Treadwell (credited with writing more plays than Shakespeare, including her most famous work “Machinal”) cites in the programme his admirable ambition to produce plays through the ages, by eminent female writers whose works have been ignored specifically for their author’s gender as […]
REVIEW: THE WOMAN IN BLACK (Fortune Theatre, 2019)
Susan Hill’s 1983 classic ghost story The Woman In Black was first adapted into a play in 1987, playing the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough before transferring to The West End and landing in its current home at the Fortune Theatre. This Wednesday marked the 30th Anniversary at The Fortune Theatre and PW Productions hosted […]
REVIEW: THEY (Theatro Technis) ★★★
They was written by Polish writer Stanislaw Witkiewicz in 1920, in response to the Socialist Revolution. Witkiewicz was a playwright, novelist, painter and philosopher in interwar Poland and is the most frequently performed Polish playwright in global theatre. This production has a short run at Theatro Technis in Camden, produced by Dorota Krimmel and directed […]
REVIEW: In the Night Garden Live (Hackney Empire) ★★★★
Now in its tenth year, the new In the Night Garden Live show features all the favourites, Igglepiggle, Upsy Daisy, Makka Pakka and friends in Igglepiggle’s Busy Day! This latest show is for all the family, featuring an array of music, familiar character sounds, puppets and costumes as well as a flying surprise. We saw […]
REVIEW: COUNTRY MUSIC (Omnibus Theatre) ★★★★
This early play from award-winning writer Simon Stephens, is revived at the Clapham Omnibus with an outstanding performance from Cary Crankson in the lead role. The story follows Jamie, a troubled young man from Gravesend, on a bleak journey from 18-year-old joyrider to prison inmate to estranged father. Each scene involves Jamie speaking with a […]
REVIEW: FLIP Fabrique: Transit (Underbelly Festival) ★★★★★
There was a full house at the Belly Theatre for the Underbelly Festival presentation of FLIP Fabrique’s new show “Transit”. The Quebec Government Office were on hand to introduce the troop of five men and a woman as one of Quebec’s greatest exports – Circus. From their circus school graduates, the team, who have a […]