Holly Sewell, Author at North West End UK

STARS: An Afrofuturist Space Odyssey – Brixton House

11Jun

By Holly SewellNo Comments

London

STARS: An Afrofuturist Space Odyssey – Brixton House

STARS: An Afrofuturist Space Odyssey fulfils and surpasses every inch of its title. It’s the odyssey of one woman’s life on Earth and her need to go beyond, and encompasses everything from Monday mornings at the laundrette to primordial, ancestral spirits from the stars. It is asintimate as sex and as enormous as the cosmos. It made me feel seen, uplifted and part of something bigger than myself, and I cannot recommend it enough. When her husband dies, Mrs (Debra Michaels) decides to take matters into her own hands and have her first orgasm. She’s not sure where to start, but space travel seems as good a place as any. Woven into the first half of the play is the story of the Nommo, an ancient hermaphroditic people from a star called Sirius B, beautifully illustrated by Candice Purwin. M...

Failure Project – Soho Theatre

Yolanda Mercy’s Failure Project is a sharp, cathartic and touching story of a woman who just can’t seem to catch a break - professionally, personally or creatively. It’s a sobering reflection of the theatre industry for emerging and mid-career writers, and the realities that face anyone trying to forge a career in the arts. The story follows a 33-year-old playwright, Ade, who is commissioned by a London theatre to write a script about her time on a scholarship at a posh private school. Over six months, her story is distorted beyond recognition by a production team that sidelines her as soon as the script is done. She is dismissed as an actor, interrupted and ignored. Still, the commission stands. To the outside world, Ade is a success. Mercy digs into failure in every facet of Ade’s...

Diagnosis – Finborough Theatre

Athena Stevens commands the stage in the world premiere of her new play, Diagnosis, playing at the Finborough Theatre. In a dystopian London police station, a woman with a disability, S/he (Athena Stevens), is questioned about an alleged assault against a stranger. In accordance with new procedural law around ‘vulnerable individuals’, she is taped, watched by an audience through a one-way mirror, and forced to be taken seriously - or that’s the idea. In reality, the endless red tape acts less as a support system than as a distraction from the truth of her story. The set is immediately eerie. There is one window, blinds drawn, through which an ominous red glow seeps into Juliette Demoulin’s dark interrogation room. A camera on a tripod records and projects onstage the entire questioni...