Anisha Pucadyil, Author at North West End UK

25Feb

By Anisha PucadyilNo Comments

London

King Lear – Almedia Theatre

Tour de force contextualising King Lear in the here and now. Yaël Farber's directed recreations of Shakespeare have become synonymous with memorable action from the actors and actresses, moody lights and deep witnessing of self and others. The earthy elements of the wind, rain and soil are brought alive on stage with outstanding craftsmanship. Max Perryment's music is brought centre stage by the talented actors and actresses who break into songs and by the infinite variety of instruments on stage and in the background. The violinist often contoured in inverted postures, usually a background in position but centre stage by adding additional flavourful notes. Set designer Merle Hensel's delicate shimmering cascading fine chains curtain provides an aesthetic background...

13Feb

By Anisha PucadyilNo Comments

London

Self Raising – Soho Theatre

Self Raising is a moving account of the autobiographical story of Jenny Sealey, Funny, poignant, witty and intelligent. Using the memoir form she paints the significant moments, adults and photographs that have left an inedible mark on her life. The joy of being in a theatre with so many diverse patrons itself is Self Raising’s biggest achievement. Disabled members of our society do not have many venues that are accessible, productions that are sensitive or innovatively incorporate signing and live captions in their performance. When Jenny Sealey and her interpreter walk on stage encouraging the audience to continue talking, but no one does because she has our undivided attention. Jenny’s unfettered candour warmth and generosity make our curiosity and investment in her story grow with t...

29Jan

By Anisha PucadyilNo Comments

London

Heart – Brixton House

‘Heart’ is a Coming-of-age love note to the ones who are still holding on to hate and to the ones who have still not been able to take that leap of faith. It has a beating pulse of the many trials and tribulations one goes through to be able to accept oneself in all our queer glory. The debut show of Jade Anouka’ platforms her personal experience and gives it all her heart and soul. Her rhyming poetry and performance are accompanied by live music and sound design by musician and four-time UK Beatbox champion Grace Savage. It's beautiful to see Grace intently watch Jade, knowing that they must have gone over this a million times, accompanying her movement with bass, her emotion with grounded beats. It's delightful to witness the synergy they share and would love Jade to be more physic...

Cricket & The Freebugs – The Courtyard Theatre

27Aug

By Anisha PucadyilNo Comments

London

Cricket & The Freebugs – The Courtyard Theatre

Frisky Halfspeed Productions brings together a motley crew of bugs that make a band tiding over loneliness and alienation. Want to be your niece's favourite aunt? Head to the Courtyard theatre near Shoreditch and settle them down for this delightful musical; pair it with going to a meadow and looking for the crickets, ladybirds, dung beetles, walking stick, ants and spiders you just saw! Written and directed by Johan Ribbing, it combines soul-funk music, memorable characters and witty lines. There is something for adults and kids, being a musical that platforms diverse instruments like the saxophone, tambourine, guitar, piano, ukelele, drums and trumpet. We are taken on the transformational journey of Crickety Cricket, setting out on an adventure to find a band of his ow...

27Aug

By Anisha PucadyilNo Comments

London

Turandot – Arcola Theatre

From the 19th of July, the Grimeborn Opera Festival returns for the sixteenth year, featuring twelve operas from across the globe. This professional production of Puccini's final opera, set in China and rooted in Central and East Asian literature, has an entire cast from the Asian diaspora. This reimagining explores the toxicity of online obsession in the face of human tragedy, as Calaf is lured into a virtual, addictive world by the imperious digital fantasy princess Turandot. Turnadot is often remembered for the famous rendition of "Nessun Dorma." by Luciano Pavarotti. When one thinks of operas, one imagines massive sets with casts of 70 plus in the chorus and an entire live orchestra. But this recreation creates a unique alchemy with intentional gaze, elegant costume and light projec...

23Aug

By Anisha PucadyilNo Comments

Scotland

Algo-Rhythm – The Bill Murray

Algo- Rhythm by the ‘Useless group’ is a dynamic trio with memorable and relatable Musical comedy. They serve it with a twist as fresh and delicious as mint chocolate chip gelato. They burst with enthusiasm on stage. Leoni Amandin, Sinead Hegarty and Rebeka Dio have wicked sorcery under their wings. They dig deep into their experiences of being queer, creative and navigating the world around us. With some adorable use of sock puppets and cardboard cutouts, their audience interaction game is strong, confident and sassy! It is delightful to hear the clarinet, piano and ukulele being played through the show by the talented performers, seamlessly changing roles and pitches. They combine the whimsical of ‘where do eels come from?’ with matter-of-fact sharing of trade secrets that they...

Absurdocles: An Improvised Greek Tragedy – Camden Comedy Club

20Aug

By Anisha PucadyilNo Comments

London

Absurdocles: An Improvised Greek Tragedy – Camden Comedy Club

Hilarious, impromptu and very Greek! Absurdocles has a group of improvisers weave a unique tale for one night only! Expect a Greek chorus, many fun characters, classic tongas and countless chortles. Without wasting too much time, the troupe picks on suggestions from the audience like names, their dream profession as a child and their favourite thing and strides forward to set up the premise of the story they paint for us over the next hour. In the show that night, we watched Lora, Anis, Miriam, Chris, and Nadir in white Greek togas camouflaging their modern wear. Time flies when you are having fun! The hour passed by sooner than we expected! Team Absurdacles have you gaping at how quickly they can pull out these characters, word associations and deeper relationships. The stage at the...

20Aug

By Anisha PucadyilNo Comments

London

Wife Material – Camden People’s Theatre

Sophia and Heleana Blackwell are a married stand-up comedy and poetry duo. Two lesbians tell us about the trials, tribulations and satisfactions of marriage. There is poetry, improvised songs and duets. Sophia and Heleana share a vibrant chemistry of opposites attracting. They intersperse one another’s stories recollecting how they met, got married and tug of disagreements solely about duvet covers. The show, first performed at the RVT, returns to the Camden Fringe and is the love story we yearn for and deserve. In the onslaught of heteronormativity slapped at us across all media, the piece holds the quiet comfort of a warm cup of coffee with a friend. Sophia is a performance poet with three published poetry collections and one novel. For two years, she hosted the LGBT+ radio sho...

Esther Manito: Hell Hath No Fury – Soho Theatre

19Aug

By Anisha PucadyilNo Comments

London

Esther Manito: Hell Hath No Fury – Soho Theatre

Kills, crushes and conquers. Esther Manito is a one-woman band crafting potions filled with laughing gas. She pulls a violin to tenderly pull strings of one’s heart and then pulls the trumpet out right the next second. Her physicality and character recreations are remarkable. The sixty minutes comedy set will have you laughing so much that you will be crying. She quips about the challenges women face in navigating life but serves it like a margarita. Shaken and not stirred and with salt. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned goes the proverb telling us about a woman who has been rejected by a man who can be ferociously angry and vindictive. Esther Manito is a woman at the top of her form, she has been able to rise in power by her astute observations placing parallelly her lived expe...

The Arc: A Trilogy of New Jewish Plays – Soho Theatre

19Aug

By Anisha PucadyilNo Comments

London

The Arc: A Trilogy of New Jewish Plays – Soho Theatre

Emanate Productions has brought to the Soho stage brand-new plays by Amy Rosenthal, Alexis Zegerman and Ryan Craig. The trilogy packs a punch by looking at the universal themes of birth, marriage and death, each adding its twist and flowing very beautifully from one to another. The production has been successful in bringing together both established and emerging Jewish artists, in an attempt to bridge the gap between experience and to provide a safe environment to foster exciting and challenging work. The first play, ‘birth’ is set at the moment a gynaecologist is confronted by his patient about his choices at her birth. birth reflects on some of techniques millennials adopt to understand and reflect on their trauma while juxtaposing it with how elders tended to dust themselves...