London Archives - North West End UK

The Wedding Singer – The Bridewell Theatre

25Jul

By Michelle KnightNo Comments

London

The Wedding Singer – The Bridewell Theatre

The Wedding Singer is from the book by Chad Beguelin and Tim Herlihy revived for the musical stage by Stuart James. Its 1985 in New Jersey, it is retro and audiences will be familiar with the film version. It features the story of Robbie Joe McWilliam a wedding singer, and with his band he forms part of the ‘experience’ many couples look forward to, the happiest day of their life, their wedding. However, his own relationship is not that straight forward, his true love Linda Heather Daniel leaves him jilted at the altar. Robbie meets Julia Abbie Minnock a waitress who consoles him and supports him to get through his rejection and encourages him to overcome his struggles with love. Julia on the other hand is set to be married to Glen, Toby Chapman a hard talking Wall Street sales shark w...

25Jul

By Kira DanielsNo Comments

London

Bangers – Arcola Theatre

“A lyrical love letter to UK garage,” Bangers is a mixed bag mix tape of bright futures and crushed dreams. Under the neon glow of Laura Howard’s chilled/chilly lighting design, the Arcola Theatre is transformed into a concert venue. DJ Tanya-Loretta Dee cues up tracks under an industrial scaffold as audiences file into the space, meander across the stage’s set of club speakers, and make their way to their assigned seats. There’s a strange uneasiness to the arrangement of the space which places a playing stage not above its audience but in the arena pit of the small Hackney theatre. Very much a North London storytelling theatre, and despite its ushering staff’s best efforts the atmosphere cultivated in the room is not that of bouncer patrolled nightclub where the music is booming and t...

24Jul

By Michelle KnightNo Comments

London

FANGIRLS – Lyric Theatre Hammersmith

Welcome to the world of Boy Band mania, FANGIRLS is set within a time when girls dream about love romance and yes their pop idols. “Its journey started in 2015 when Zayn Malik leaves One Direction” and Yve Blake is inspired to capture this moment in a book describing the feelings of young girls in a crazy tumultuous time in their lives, as young teenagers. Now it is a musical premiering in London and has hit the scene with a bang. This vibrant cast bring to life the tunes, the funny and the serious side to ‘growing up’ as young teens, idolising ‘pop icons’ peer relationships and the need to feel love, being pivotal milestones. In between the mayhem and madness is a message that ‘young people’s feelings’ should not be underestimated. This productio...

24Jul

By Kira DanielsNo Comments

London

The Hot Wing King – National Theatre

Directed by Roy Alexander Weise, Katori Hall’s Pulitzer Prize winning comedy makes its London debut in the relatively modest Dorfman Theatre. Set in Memphis, Tennessee and playing out in the interior of a particularly well-endowed suburban home expertly designed for the stage by Rajha Shakiry, this is no minimalistic kitchen sink drama. With running water coming from the taps, steam rising from the pots, and marinade dripping from big wooden stirring spoons, this is a theatrical experience with all the trimmings. Head chef and hopeful hot wing competition champion, Cordell (Kadiff Kirwan), plates up scrumptious chicken and sizzling drama in his boyfriend Dwayne’s (Simon-Anthony Rhoden) illustriously decorated middle-class kitchen. Circumnavigating the colossal counter island where C...

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)...

19Jul

By Paul AckroydNo Comments

London

The Defamation – Riverside Studios

Presented as part of the Riverside Studios Bitesize Festival, this is an intriguing piece of theatre written by Zen Tucker. Said to be inspired by the events of the Depp versus Heard defamation lawsuit in the US, it is situated in a liminal space between life and death. Five of Shakespeare's best-known female characters are obliged to spend interminable time awaiting the decision of an afterlife court as to whether they should be dispatched to heaven or hell. The setting is a library with somewhat irregular shelves and two small tables. The characters are Desdemona, Lady Macbeth, Hermione, Ophelia and Hero. For those not familiar with Shakespeare, the character sheet provides a useful summary of their roles their respective plays. The play, which is written in blank verse, involves the...

17Jul

By Louise PennNo Comments

London

Knives and Forks – Riverside Studios

In Danielle James's ambitious but uneven play, Iris and Thalia live in a flat share. Firm friends who share a life of carefree partying and fun. But Iris is hiding a catastrophic secret that will rip their world apart. Knives and Forks, directed by Annah Calascione, has a strong story at its heart, one of love and acceptance in the face of the ultimate ending. Where it becomes a little problematic is in the additional elements utilised to tell this story. Both Iris and Thalia have shadows, or 'psyches' who dress like them and express themselves through movement and words or art, added to a huge canvas backdrop. Now and again, it is a clever shorthand to highlight what is not being said. But as both an emotional device, and a practical one to tell us where we are in the non-linea...

17Jul

By Kira DanielsNo Comments

London

Conversion – Lion & Unicorn Theatre

Precarious Theatre is taking its shot at proselytizing without any precarity to it. In both the writing and staging of its new play, Conversion, there are shockingly few risks taken and very little grit for audiences to sink their teeth into. As promised in its advertising, the play, written by Precarious Theatre founders Liam Grogan and Marc Biasioli covers an excerpt from the life and times of St. Augustine of Canterbury (David Allen). Beginning with his dispensation from sunny Rome and following his journey to the strange and savage land of Britain, this play is not shy of including multitudes of characters in its opening scenes. With more the aura of a school pageant than a fringe theatre production its cast galumphs and galivants across the stage in mock pagan revelry befor...

Kaleidoscope Festival – Alexandra Palace Park

16Jul

By Zain RussellNo Comments

London

Kaleidoscope Festival – Alexandra Palace Park

The Kaleidoscope Festival, set in the lush Alexandra Palace Park with stunning views across the London skyline, offered a vibrant array of activities, music, and performances throughout the day. The festival was exceptionally well-organized and maintained, providing ample space for attendees to enjoy the grounds, views, and diverse performances. One of the standout features of the festival was its cleanliness. There were plenty of bins and garbage bags strategically placed around the venue, ensuring that the festival remained mostly clean throughout the day. Additionally, the festival provided a large number of portable toilets, which were sufficient to accommodate the crowd without long queue times. Inside the building, where the Fringe Stage was located, there were also indoor toilet...

12Jul

By Olivia CoxNo Comments

London

Dog Sh!t – Theatre 503

With a title like ‘Dog Sh!t’ and a promotional poster featuring a cartoon canine caught in that very act, audiences watching Bellaray Bertrand-Webb’s play at Theatre503 should know to expect the unexpected. Selling out an acclaimed run at the Dublin Fringe Festival last year, Dog Sh!t has transferred to London’s Theatre503 for two nights, directed by Ursula McGinn. The 70-minute play focuses on four characters: the existentially melancholic Emma (Laura Brady), passionate thespian Raven (Gracie Oddie-James), creative-turned-corporate Nora (Breffni Holahan), and Nora’s boyfriend Obi (Aaron Shosanya), the tech bro with a surprising obsession with Greek philosophy. Advertised as a satirical comedy, I’m happy to say that Dog Sh!t definitely isn’t all bark and no bite. Firstly, the ...