Riana Howarth, Author at North West End UK

Waiting for Godot – Theatre Royal Haymarket

25Sep

By Riana HowarthNo Comments

London

Waiting for Godot – Theatre Royal Haymarket

Well, these are two very well-spoken "tramps". A wired Didi (Ben Whishaw) jolts and flourishes across the space, amidst a more weighted, stony Gogo (Lucian Msamati). The two are equally as confounded as each other, torn between wavering uncertainty and resignation to the fact. As the title of the play reveals, they are waiting for Godot. In Beckett's classic, we are not entirely sure who Godot is or why he is being waited for, and neither, as it seems, are the characters. Whishaw and Msamati play their respective characters so beautifully. It is like watching a dance - their responsivity and spontaneity is glorious, and they find musicality in the repetition. This much studied play has plenty of meat to chew on. The real juiciness of it, as brought out by Whishaw and Msamati ...

ECHO (Every Cold-Hearted Oxygen) – The Royal Court

19Jul

By Riana HowarthNo Comments

London

ECHO (Every Cold-Hearted Oxygen) – The Royal Court

As if a play within a play wasn’t trippy enough! In ECHO, we see dialogue being spoken as it is typed out, and witness words spoken from writing in the past. The actor of the night (Adrian Lester this time) is placed and guided around the stage, without having rehearsed or knowing what follows. The piece is a mingling of themes personal to Soleimanpour, as they often are in plays to most playwrights, but this is made overtly clear in this one. Time-travelling, distance, home, and his journey form the fabric of the play. Nassim (Soleimanpour) video calls Adrian - face projected on a large stretched screen on the stage. Even now, I can’t discern whether this was live or pre-recorded. Anyway, I shouldn’t ruin it. So, Nassim is chatting with Adrian, but then gets sidetracked (conveniently),...

Franz Kafka’s The Hunger Artist – Etcetera Theatre

11Jun

By Riana HowarthNo Comments

London

Franz Kafka’s The Hunger Artist – Etcetera Theatre

Franz Kafka’s The Hunger Artist - Etcetera Theatre Mesmeric, painfully expressive, and disturbingly comforting, Jonathan Sidgwick brings Kafka’s final work to life. Caged, centre stage, we find a man who revives himself to tell the tragic tale of the Hunger Artist, a man who devoted his life to his craft, to fasting. We see the hunger artist’s plight at the hands of a disinterested audience, (but also due to his own fixation), as he is forced to downgrade from a solo-travelling act that brought in masses to a sad, sideshow act that viewers see as a hindrance. With outstretched fingers and ever-widening eyes, blooming with the peculiar expression of the tormented hunger artist, you could feel his hunger for express and his appetite for reward, and release. He performed and flaunted th...

People Places & Things – Trafalgar Theatre

20May

By Riana HowarthNo Comments

London

People Places & Things – Trafalgar Theatre

I’d heard the premise before going to see this. I knew it was about an actress with an addiction problem going to rehab, to get the paper that lets her get back to work. Yet it was much more than this - an intensive journey, from the excruciating detox to all the mental anguish, conceptualisation, denial, and the hopeful, desperate, desire to get better. It was a truly cathartic watch. Denise Gough’s characterisation was phenomenal, we saw all the nooks and crannies of this complex woman. Her visceral performance brought Emma’s story to life, and made the meta moments, the reminders that we are watching actors, even more trippy because her character was so embodied and real. There was a moment in the first scene where the back of the stage is ripped away, and throughout the drama, this ...

This Is Memorial Device – Riverside Studios

29Apr

By Riana HowarthNo Comments

London

This Is Memorial Device – Riverside Studios

Capturing an art induced euphoria and a sense of estrangement, we are shown the meaning in the small, contained world of fictional band, Memorial Device. Graham Eatough brings to life David Keenan’s novel that merges an imagined world and the 80’s music scene in Airdrie. The set and concept was intriguing and provoking. The mannequins on stage was such a beautiful idea (slightly absurd and eerie nonetheless) - enlivening the way the band and the music made the speaker feel. Deeply poetic, lyrical words were woven in between the candid. The running thread through the script was of feelings; of awe and searching to reconnect to an ecstatic moment, and a feeling of mourning. In ways, it felt like an ode, and a eulogy. Actor Paul Higgins took us on a journey in this strange suspended time, ...

29Apr

By Riana HowarthNo Comments

London

The Tempest – Drayton Arms Theatre

Burnt Orange Theatre Rep Company bring The Tempest to life. In the black box theatre setting, the troupe form a striking ensemble with sizzling choreography as well as impressive individual performances. Such dynamic storytelling with swift transitions made Shakespeare’s language accessible and engaging. The group was cohesive and nimble, heaving to and fro throughout like the waves and the ship, and producing surreal hissing and clicking sound collages. I loved the interpretation of Ariel, with four actors embodying the spirit. They really captured the magic and elemental nature of the play. Ioan Oosthuizen’s fraught Prospero was heavy with responsibility, and it was charming to see his lighter side and fatherly affection around his daughter. As the principal storyteller in the ...

8Mar

By Riana HowarthNo Comments

London

GOOD-BYE – Coronet Theatre

A sizzling, poetic piece from Japanese theatre company, Chiten Theatre, weaves snapshots of Osamu Dazai’s life and literature together. The rhythmically acute cast form characters sat at a bar in Tokyo. As they swig their drinks, they build the tension as Dazai nears his impending suicide. A beautifully choreographed sequence sees the characters popping and pulsing, drawing out “Good bye”, a syllable per person. Slowly, this morphs into the main body of the show, which externalises Dazai’s emotional journey, exploring the notions of living and dying, through the particular nihilistic post-war lens. The cast embody characters from Dazai’s life, his stories, and also his own voice. The narrative, elegant in its simplicity, conveyed an intense longing and desire to understand life a...

Balletboyz: England on Fire – Sadlers Wells

9Nov

By Riana HowarthNo Comments

London

Balletboyz: England on Fire – Sadlers Wells

Based on the book, England on Fire by Stephen Ellcock and Matt Osman, this sizzling production brings England’s eclectic past and present to life. The show begins with a meditative lighting design (designed by Andrew Ellis) projected on the high side walls. This gives way to a sombre, moody, arboreal setting with freakish animal-hybrid characters extravagantly dressed in black, watching the metaphorical birth/death of our protagonist. A dramatic start. The piece is a curation of different dances, each relating to a segment of the book. The setting explores England through time; from the ancient land to the modern day featuring a sparky Arctic Monkeys-esque band, Gag Salon. It is no surprise that the result is outlandish and stylistically fluid. The main thread is this new-born person we...

28Oct

By Riana HowarthNo Comments

London

Immersive 1984 – Hackney Town Hall

Fancy a break from the ghouls and gore this Halloween? 1984 immersive experience offers the chill and terror of being governed by an authoritarian state. Having devoured the book years ago, I was excited to see how the world of the book would be brought to life. Hackney County Hall's large space, with a fusion of classic and modern elements was an ideal setting for it. The split stairways and tall ceilings gave the place a ministerial authority. Party members in blue jumpsuits wore stern, mistrusting expressions and gave strict orders. For those who aren't familiar with the book, Orwell wrote it in 1949, imagining what the near future might look like. He depicts a hyper controlling government which thought-polices and scrutinises individuals. Winston, a "thought criminal" works for the ...

14Oct

By Riana HowarthNo Comments

London

Delinquent Dad – Tabard Theatre

This kookily animated production took me back to watching My Parents Are Aliens on the TV. Yet, this play is set six months into the future, envisioning increasing rent bills, crypto cases, and an elevated housing crisis. Its incidentally interweaving connections tie into the small-world-feel of the sitcom trope, and the gloriously indifferent, haphazard Dad (John Gorick) makes for a likeable and oddly believable protagonist. A young couple, a pair of millennials as they call themselves, are baffled when what is meant to be a meal for the rents turns out to be a savage split, as Matt’s Dad is dumped on his doorstep with a holdall catapulted into the room by a furious wife. The timing couldn’t be worse – Matt (Bradley Crees) and Cara (Elizabeth Back) are in the midst of a rent strike, to...