Savitha Venugopal, Author at North West End UK

14Nov

By Savitha VenugopalNo Comments

London

Blue Stockings – New Wimbledon Theatre

Behold, a young lady pursuing education, clamouring for the right to graduate, wanting to perform scientific experiments and debate on philosophy! Is there anything more unnatural than a ‘blue stocking’ woman who insists on going against her role in nature, which is to reproduce and care for the young? Concepts that draw snickers from the audience now, but concepts that were well believed and propagated in the 19th century. Written by Jessica Swale and directed by Natalie Romero, Blue Stockings is set in Cambridge of the 1890s. A group of women – young and old, students and teachers – are fighting for their right to earn a degree and to be educated on the same footing as the men. The female students match their male counterparts grade for grade and yet find that they are sidelined, even...

31Oct

By Savitha VenugopalNo Comments

London

Guards at the Taj – Orange Tree Theatre

For centuries, Taj Mahal has held the fascination of the world as a monument of love, an architectural masterpiece that not only is breathtakingly beautiful, but also spoke of the power held by Shahjahan, the Mughal emperor who commissioned it. But great beauty comes at great price. Legend goes that after Taj Mahal was built, Shahjahan ordered that all the artisans who worked on it have their hands chopped off so that they never replicate it ever again (there is no historical evidence to this having happened). Guards at the Taj, written by Rajiv Joseph and directed by Adam Karim, explores the human and emotional cost of creating something magnificent. Two soldiers, Babur and Humayun – namesakes of Shahjahan’s ancestors, as it happens – guard the Taj as it nears completion. Babur is p...

Anirban Dasgupta: Polite Provocation – Soho Theatre

31Oct

By Savitha VenugopalNo Comments

London

Anirban Dasgupta: Polite Provocation – Soho Theatre

At the very outset Anirban Dasgupta promises that by the end of the hour, the audience will know a lot more about India than they already do. He stays true to his word, educating the room on the current state of politics of the country, Mahatma Gandhi, the freedom struggle, and the growth of standup comedy and the challenges it faces. While he does eventually segue on to other topics, the best parts of Dasgupta’s set are for the politically aware. It also seems to be what he most enjoys. He brings up some uncomfortable truths about the political and social atmosphere in India with much hilarity. The evening’s show, he says, is “like the Indian media – sold out.” But can he tell these jokes with the same ease back in his home city? Probably not, given what he goes on to tell us ab...

What we talk about when we talk about Anne Frank – Marylebone Theatre

16Oct

By Savitha VenugopalNo Comments

London

What we talk about when we talk about Anne Frank – Marylebone Theatre

Two Jewish couples: one secular, the other orthodox. The first, Phil and Debbie, live in their lavish house in Florida along with their son Trevor (who, by the way, is a Pastafarian and worships the Flying Spaghetti Monster). The second, Shoshana and Yerucham, live in Israel, have a large family, and seem to live by every rule in the book. When such contrasting characters meet, there are bound to be sparks. The play is based on a 2011 short story by Nathan Englander, which he adapted for the stage incorporating the most recent developments in the Middle East. In the hands of director Patrick Marber, it grows into a magnificent creature crackling with electricity. Each character is deeply layered, and the tones are brought out beautifully through the course of the play. Debbie,...

24Sep

By Savitha VenugopalNo Comments

London

Lilith – New Wimbledon Theatre

The stage is stark – white and blank save for the tree in the centre, laden with red fruit. This is the setting of an ancient story, the characters well known. You already know what that tree is, what it is going to do to Adam and Eve. But what of Lilith, the one who fell through the pages, the first companion of Adam, banished from paradise? The play – directed by Olivia Swain and Aimee Dickinson, written by the latter along with Aliya Gilmore – tells the story from the much-vilified Lilith’s perspective. Created along with Adam as a single entity “with four limbs and twin mouths”, Lilith was then cleaved from Adam and each named after the rhythm of their heartbeats. Together, they explore the garden of Eden with the delight of children, tasting fruits, naming animals and flowers, m...

The Secret Garden – Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

27Jun

By Savitha VenugopalNo Comments

London

The Secret Garden – Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

When a new adaptation of a favourite childhood novel is announced, you approach it with trepidation – will the experience of the book be ruined, will they change it so much that it is unrecognisable? With this production of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s classic, you have nothing to worry about. Created by Holly Robinson and Anna Himali Howard, it is delightfully fresh and endearing, with new layers of love and acceptance that only add to the tale’s magic. Mary Lennox (played to perfection by Hannah Khalique-Brown) is growing up as a neglected, spoilt child in India when an outbreak of cholera orphans her. She is transplanted from the only life she has known to the foreign new climes of Yorkshire, to Misslethwaite Manor with its 100 rooms. The maid, Martha (Molly Hewitt-Richards), is her fir...

An Ideal Husband – New Wimbledon Theatre

20May

By Savitha VenugopalNo Comments

London

An Ideal Husband – New Wimbledon Theatre

What relevance could a play written 130 years ago possibly have today? But then, that is the magic of Oscar Wilde, giving us themes that stay relevant through the ages, food for thought for days. When Lady Markby remarked that society has become over-populated and that “someone should arrange a proper scheme of assisted emigration”, it certainly hit a nerve and prompted a few uncomfortable chuckles in the audience. Directed by Patrick Brione, the Carlton Theatre Group’s production of An Ideal Husband is rich in talent and rides the waves of wit and melodrama with flair. Sir Robert Chiltern’s perfect life hangs in the balance as the scheming Mrs Cheveley threatens him with social and political ruin. She blackmails him with a letter from his past in order to force his support for a canal ...