Caroline Worswick

18Aug

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

London

Bad Teacher – Etcetera Theatre

Not to be confused with the Cameron Diaz film in 2011, Bad Teacher offers a tongue in cheek look at the teaching profession and how this particular teacher manages to deal with the day-to-day frustrations of the job. As an introduction, the screen on the backdrop projects news articles about Government cuts to education, mental health and general unrest within the teaching profession because of pressure, leading to teachers quitting. Evie is a 26-year-old drama teacher who feels that she is underpaid and underappreciated. She has decided that as no-one has offered her a pay rise, that she must ask for it herself; you don’t ask you don’t get. Today she is feeling the power of BPE (big pussy energy), so she feels superhuman. Head of the arts department Nina is t...

18Aug

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

London

Meat Cute – Hen & Chickens Theatre

After a successful debut at the Chiswick Playhouse, ‘Meat Cute’ returns to the stage at the Camden Fringe Festival at the Hen & Chickens Theatre. The play is written and performed by Bibi Lucille and produced by Patch Plays. Patch Plays was formed in 2020 by Anastasia Bunce and Maria Majewska who are interested in exploring issues such as the environment, and animal ethics and how theatre can throw a spotlight onto these issues. Lena is on a quest to find her perfect tinder date and she’s on her 3rd guy this week. In her quest to find that special guy she searches through tinder and decides to go on a date with Chad. Her previous date had been vegan, and she had walked out on him, but would Chad fare any better? He has taken her for dinner, and he chose a vegan starte...

Eight Hundred Dollar Value – Etcetera Theatre

17Aug

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

London

Eight Hundred Dollar Value – Etcetera Theatre

Al Carretta is the man behind Nightpiece Media, who specialize in delivering movies made on a shoe-string budget. The mafia crime series began in August 2009 with ‘The Tears of a Clown’ at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and has since progressed. Eight Hundred Dollar Value is previewing at Camden Fringe Festival, moving to Edinburgh towards the end of the month, and will then be produced as a film in the Autumn. Michael Trudon (Al Carretta) had a good life with his foster parents, they gave him everything he could ever wish for, and everything was handed to him on a plate. ‘I didn’t have ambition; I didn’t need it!’. Following the death of his mother and then his father leaving home, he didn’t know much about his early years until his crazy grandmother from B...

17Aug

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

London

Spectra – Etcetera Theatre

I was in for a double treat this morning when I saw the collaboration of RoL ‘N Productions and Imposters Collaboration at the Etcetera Theatre. Liane Grant and Olja Mladjenovic have brought their theatre companies together to showcase two short pieces, ‘Wines from Santorini’ and ‘Chance of Rain’ at the Etcetera Theatre as part of the Camden Fringe Festival. First up was ‘Wines from Santorini’, this two-hander follows the lives of Caz (Liane Grant) and Ali (Olja Mladjenovic) who were childhood friends who meet again when Caz is due to marry. As Caz is getting ready to move house, they are surrounded with packing boxes and Ali has thoughtfully brought a bottle of wine along with her. As they reminisce over old times and mutual friends from years ago, the unspoken hostil...

Every Sinner Has a Future – Golden Goose Theatre

29Jul

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

London

Every Sinner Has a Future – Golden Goose Theatre

The title of the play brings to mind ‘A Woman of No Importance’ by Oscar Wilde, when Lord Illingworth declared ‘Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future’. In context Wilde’s play is vastly different, as the subjects are from a privileged society, something that is not the case with this play. Frank Scully is a 1960’s child, whose mother did the best she could for him under difficult circumstances. Scully comes from an era before ‘black lives matter’, skin colour mattered and if you didn’t fit in, you were going to find it very difficult to get on in the world. Like most young boys, Scully had dreams of what he would like to do, and when he was young his dream was to be a paperboy like the other boys. He had his chopper bike, but why wouldn’t Mr Patel...

Spotlight on Nigel Planer – writer of All Above Board

5Jul

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

Interviews

Spotlight on Nigel Planer – writer of All Above Board

As we look forward to Nigel Planer’s new play ‘All Above Board’ coming to the stage in partnership with The Northern Comedy Theatre, we asked Nigel about playwriting, his views on comedy and where did the idea for his character Neil from ‘The Young Ones’, come from? For further details of ‘All Above Aboard’ including tour dates and booking information, follow this link to The Northern Comedy Theatre’s website - https://northerncomedytheatre.com/ Your new play ‘All Above Board’ is due to premiere in New Brighton on the 23rd August. Without giving away too much, can you give us a brief summary of the plot of the play? Well, it’s a farce, so the plot is a bit intricate, but I’ll have a go. Timothy Upton-Fell has quit the world of banking and now - for all the wrong re...

Spotlight on Antony Eden, ‘The Actor’ The Woman In Black UK Tour

1Jul

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

Interviews

Spotlight on Antony Eden, ‘The Actor’ The Woman In Black UK Tour

As ‘The Woman In Black’ heads out on tour, we caught up with Antony Eden who plays ‘The Actor’ for the UK Tour. We find out from Antony Eden, what the show’s enduring qualities are that have drawn audiences back to see the play for more than 30 years. The Woman In Black’s success, means that the play continues in the West End, but it is also coming to a theatre near you. Find the dates and booking details for the UK Tour by following this link - https://www.thewomaninblack.com/ticket-info/uk-tour Without giving away any spoilers, can you give a summary of the ghostly tale which is ‘The Woman In Black’? ‘The Woman In Black’ is the story of Arthur Kipps who, as a young ambitious solicitor is sent to the remote, isolated home of Alice Drablow, recently ...

Romeo & Juliet – Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

24Jun

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

London

Romeo & Juliet – Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

On a wonderfully sunny evening, the weather gods behaved themselves, and we were treated to one of Shakespeare’s best loved plays. Postponed from last year’s season, director Kimberley Sykes’ version has been eagerly anticipated, with its new viewpoint on this popular play, we ask – did this re-assessment pay off? The set designed by Naomi Dawson, with its backdrop of trees, helps to soften the harsh set of scaffolding, rocks, and earth. Earth is one of Sykes’ themes and can be seen as a symbol of nurturing growth, but earth also throws its arms around death which is a major part of the plotline. When Sykes re-read the play, she was struck by a reference to an earthquake that had happened in Verona eleven years earlier. At the time of the earthquake, the Nurse (E...

23Jun

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

South East

The Old House – Brighton Fringe

Written and performed by Kate Maravan, ‘The Old House’, was inspired by her own experience of coming to terms with her mother’s Alzheimer’s. Directed by Kath Burlinson, the play does not fall into the category of monologue, as even though only one person performs, Maravan’s ability to move between characters, creates a feeling of two very different personas on stage. A moving tale of a mother and daughter trying to navigate their changing relationship which is evolving constantly as the side effects of the Alzheimer’s begins to have an impact. We meet the two of them, as they take a trip to their old house, which brings back fond memories, as they spend time together at the beach and reminisce about past times. This is a beautifully written play, with Maravan’...

30May

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

NEWS

Ripples – A Play (A Work-in-Progress)

It was lovely to be back at The Vaults to take a look at ‘Ripples’, which is a work-in-progress play. The show is presented at the Fringe Futures Festival, an innovative collaboration between the Pleasance & VAULT Creative Arts, providing an opportunity for early and mid-career artists to try out work at various stages of development in front of a live audience. How many times have you watched something going on around you, and then when asked a question about what just happened, you cannot give a detailed answer? Our mind plays tricks on us and fills in the detail that we cannot remember, so we think we know what happened, but that may not be entirely the case. Inspired by her own experience of this when she was young, Xi Chen (Director), was convinced that ...