London Archives - North West End UK

Beats + Strings Soul Renaissance – Hen & Chickens Theatre

11Aug

By Stewart Who?No Comments

London

Beats + Strings Soul Renaissance – Hen & Chickens Theatre

The Hen and Chickens in Highbury is a charming boozer. As the sun sets, golden light floods the room, and it feels warmly bohemian. The Theatre upstairs is bijou, but a perfect theatrical attic for intense, intimate performance. BEATS + STRINGS- Soul Renaissance are a fledgeling 3-piece band from Kansas. Each member boasts a credible solo career that thrived before they got their groove on as a trio. While they did a stellar job of bringing funky brunch party vibes to their performance, the space and set up felt overly formal for the occasion. Their repertoire felt honed for a subterranean, rose-hued jazz club. They needed a space where tables are dancefloors and smashed martini glasses add notes to the soundtrack. This room was not right, but as Whitney agreed- it’s okay. The strin...

Murder on the Allotment: The Musical – The Cockpit

11Aug

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

Murder on the Allotment: The Musical – The Cockpit

‘Murder on the Allotment: The Musical’ arrives at Camden Fringe with an intriguing premise and worthwhile intentions, but unfortunately the resulting production falls considerably short of its ambitions. Elizabeth Wood’s story centres on Karwan, a 17-year-old asylum seeker who finds himself navigating the prejudices and petty territorial disputes of a provincial allotment. There is undoubtedly fertile planting ground here for satire, particularly around immigration, xenophobia and attitudes towards belonging. Yet despite positioning itself as funny and provocative, the production rarely achieves either. The principal problem is the score by Elizabeth Wood, Tess Adèle Glinert and Scarlet Billham. A mammoth eleven original songs are packed into an hour, yet few feel sufficiently devel...

10Aug

By Stewart Who?No Comments

London

Can You See Me? – Museum of Comedy

I got a U (ungraded) for ‘O’ Level Physics and failed my Maths four times. My attempts to defeat these numerical frailties via exams, evening classes and persistent application continued into my early twenties. For decades, I believed that STEM subjects were my Achilles heel and leaned into the Humanities with avant garde enthusiasm. In retrospect, this mix of avoidance and failure was fuelled by uninspiring teachers and shame-based anxiety. My life could have taken a different turn entirely if my early education had been blessed with a teacher like Vivien Puppa Kocsis. Can You See Me? is a pop-science seminar which serves as a cool mix of entertainment and education. Is it a stretch to define such an event as ‘theatre’? Probably. However, this show was staged as part of the Camden ...

The Show That Goes Backwards – Camden Comedy Club

10Aug

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

London

The Show That Goes Backwards – Camden Comedy Club

The premise of the improv show is that it begins at the end, and the improvisers must build a back story for what happens in a reverse timeline (if you know what I mean). To begin the show the company ask the audience for a word, any word. Someone suggests beans – and we’re off! The play ended with a bean induced slippage in aisle seven, but the improvisers must now create their story. Sainsburys is the supermarket of choice, and the couple who were shopping in the store were rather heavy handedly admonished by security. We then move on to a rather murky discussion by executives about a merger of all supermarkets, yes, they are going to include the Co-op. This will lead to total domination of the supermarket sector and unchallenged pricing. ...

The Comedy About Spies – Adelphi Theatre

10Aug

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

The Comedy About Spies – Adelphi Theatre

There are productions that make you smile, productions that make you laugh, and then there are those rare productions when “surrender” is the only option. ‘The Comedy About Spies’ belongs firmly in the latter category. Mischief Comedy’s latest theatrical assault on the funny bone is riotously entertaining, breathtakingly well executed and, quite simply, one of the funniest shows I have seen in a very long time. Written by Henry Lewis and Henry Shields, the play takes the familiar world of the 1960s espionage thriller and gleefully scrambles it into an ingenious comic farce. In London’s Piccadilly Hotel, spies from opposing sides (CIA and KGB) converge in pursuit of stolen top-secret documents called Project Midnight, plans for a deadly new weapon. Throw an actor aspiring to play Jam...

10Aug

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

London

Getting Ready – Etcetera Theatre

Set in Lucy’s bedroom post-University, Lucy (Naoise White), Cara (Maisie Hogan), and Faye (Luisa Fischelt) are to spend their last evening celebrating the end of university, and the beginning of their new journey’s. Lucy is travelling to Copenhagen, Cara and her boyfriend Ethan are beginning a new life in Sydney, Australia, and Faye is staying at home as her Paris plans did not work out. We soon learn that Lucy and Faye live in the same town and have been friends for many years, and Cara met the two of them at university. As the friends get ready for their night out at the local pub, they explore their friendship, their future, and whether they feel that these changes are for the better. At first impression, Lucy appears to be carefree, but as she opens up, we s...

The Silliad: Improvised Myths and Legends – Museum of Comedy

10Aug

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

London

The Silliad: Improvised Myths and Legends – Museum of Comedy

Ancient Greek myths, what can be more tempting to improvise, and with the name of the improv troupe adding some silly into Homer’s Iliad, we have a huge hint as to what is coming. As we are seated, we are asked to complete a card with an idea, and then they select a card out of pandora’s box. The question that they must answer is – Why do humans have hair? And it will take place in a basement. The audience is also asked to vote on what type of myth they would like, Greek, Norse, or Egyptian. It was a close-run thing between Greek and Egyptian, but Greek was slightly ahead in the vote. The players today are Zack, Ollie and Jane, and we begin by King Minos of Crete announcing that he has opened his basement up to the public, so Athena and Alan decide to g...

9Aug

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

London

Muse – Hen & Chickens Theatre

Many great painters have a ‘muse,’ but how does it feel to have someone obsessing about you aesthetically? Artist and muse met at an art gallery on a Friday night, Lilith (Millie Small) is a photographer and interested in art, and Lucas (Xavier Atkins) is an artist desperate for his break, and they both admire a painting. They talk, and Lucas explains that he is looking for a model that he may paint. Lilith is intrigued, but will she go along…? Of course she will! Lucas is somewhat aloof, and Lilith is intrigued by this mysterious painter. The studio is at his place, and once he begins painting, we hear that Lucas has been lined up for a prize if he creates some suitable work, hence his need for a live model, as he wanted his painting to be a masterpiec...

The Risotto Is Burning – The Hope Theatre

9Aug

By Olivia CoxNo Comments

London

The Risotto Is Burning – The Hope Theatre

Debuting in London as part of The Hope Theatre’s North Sapph-Fest 2026, The Risotto Is Burning is a charming, bite-sized comedic drama by Sophie Underwood. We meet Annabelle (a wonderfully anxiety-riddled Georgia Brown) and Ben (a James Acaster-esque Jacob Lovick), a late-twenties couple who’ve moved into a properly grown up — if small — new flat. To prove their adultness, Annabelle has invited her two best friends from uni over for a classy dinner party. She might not be able to cook a decent risotto, but she’s determined to be a good host. Unfortunately, the night soon falls apart when Leah (Naia Elliott-Spence) brings along her 20-year-old girlfriend Layla (Katy Richmond) and Maddy (also played by Underwood) brings along her new “partner”… a blue fuzzy puppet called Charlie. Wh...

A Curious Demise – Hen & Chickens Theatre

9Aug

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

London

A Curious Demise – Hen & Chickens Theatre

Do you fancy yourself as a murder mystery detective? Or a writer – this Agatha Christie style show might be for you! A Curious Demise, is an improvised murder mystery, and they use their long-form improv skills to create a short play using some suggestions from the audience. As we enter the theatre, a guy with a rather dodgy moustache is brushing up and sets the tone for the show perfectly. With A Curious Demise, the show begins with a body, and the mystery is solved along the way by the cast developing the characters and the storyline naturally unfolds. But first, they must get some suggestions from the audience. Where has the body been found? - a greengrocers is suggested. The dear departed gentleman died holding something in his hand, wha...