London Archives - Page 131 of 160

27Mar

By Riana HowarthNo Comments

London

Psychodrama – Battersea Arts Centre

Sleepwalk Collective and Christopher Brett Bailey’s experimental piece is a fusion of titillation, poetic imagery and philosophical exploration. From the get-go, there is an overt sense that we are audience members with an assumed passive role, and we are reminded of the undulating relationship between the collective and our anonymity. It feels like we are slowly spacing out into a nebulous, creative void. There is terror and excitement and freshness, and we feel oddly safe as we enter it, guided by the two characters (Christopher and Lara) who feel just as lost as we are. Fragmented and episodic, the script is disorientating as it whispered through headphones, both soothing and unsettling like an ASMR. Its ambiguous storyline begins to piece together later in the play. With evocative, ...

Who You Are and What You Do – Bread and Roses Theatre

25Mar

By Aditi DalalNo Comments

London

Who You Are and What You Do – Bread and Roses Theatre

A children’s birthday party-cum-carnival is the vibe the audience gets as they enter a room full of confetti, balloons and streamers. You’re in for a rollercoaster ride of clapping away to Pharrell Williams’s ‘Happy’ before holding your breath as unexpected events unfold, bursting in sprouts of uncomfortable laughter and circling back to a joyful singing of “Happy Birthday.” Written by Hugh Dichmont, the play was the Top three winner of The Bread & Roses Playwriting Award 2019. Opening with an energetic clowning act, the show quickly turns the mood around and dives into darker themes. Five stories, seeking happiness in different ways, unfold part by part as a montage, except they never fully come together. The fragments are played in a different order in each show. They seem general...

24Mar

By Khushboo ShahNo Comments

London

Fatal Attraction – Richmond Theatre

From screen to stage, Fatal Attraction does make a long journey, making it relevant to a 21st-century audience after its release on screen 35 years ago. Written by the original screenwriter James Dearden, directed by Loveday Ingram, the play is indeed “a psychological thriller” and “a cautionary tale” as described by Ingram and Dearden respectively. The play opens suddenly with a swift shift in light and a suspenseful sound effect hushing a chatty audience and immediately demanding engagement. Dan Gallagher (Oliver Farnworth) is a lawyer, happily married to Beth Gallagher (Louise Redknapp). When Beth and Ellen (voiced by Charlotte Holden), their daughter, visit out of town, Dan’s casual drink with Alex Forrest (Susie Amy) at a recently opened bar turns into a one-night stand. What occur...

22Mar

By Chloe StallibrassNo Comments

London

School of Rock – New Wimbledon Theatre

School is in session at New Wimbledon Theatre as The School of Rock invites you to be 'in the band' until 26th of March. The story follows Dewey Finn (Jake Sharp) struggling to stay a member of a rock band whilst living with his old high school band mate Ned Schneebly (Matthew Rowland). He poses as Ned to undertake a position as a teacher in a prestigious school to pay his rent and to help boost his chances of winning The Battle of the Bands, leading to him creating his own band made up of the talented and gifted children of Horace Green. As always, I'm keen eyed towards the sets on the shows I see. This set was gorgeous for its transitions and used clever tricks to set the scene and create the key locations within the storyline. I particularly loved the giant sliding and rotating do...

17Mar

By Khushboo ShahNo Comments

London

Gulliver’s Travels – Unicorn Theatre

Gulliver’s adventures come to life with the bizarre and delightful production of Gulliver’s Travels playing at the Unicorn Theatre for age 7+. Directed by Jay Woodcock-Stewart, Lulu Raczka’s rendition of Jonathan’s Swift classic brilliantly uses form to share Gulliver’s narrative to a vivacious audience of young people accompanied by adults. Leah Brotherhood, Mae Munuo (Gulliver), Sam Swann, and Jacoba Williams make an energetic entrance to hip-hop music with a camera and a portable spotlight on a whitewashed stage with multiple tables set at a corner. They set the tone of the play, dancing and celebrating, interacting with the audience, and playing with the camera as their movements are projected on the white backdrop. Photo: Marc Brenner The narrative seamlessly begins as the da...

17Mar

By Paul AckroydNo Comments

London

Tempest – Pleasance Theatre

The production of the Tempest by Wildcard Theatre, currently running at the Pleasance Theatre is rather like the two-headed beast that Caliban and Trinculo create in act 2 scene 2 of Shakespeare's play, having two heads. One head is a serious attempt to present Shakespeare's famous play, the other the desire for a light-hearted music inspired evening. Instead of working together towards a common purpose the tension between them detracted from what could have been an extremely fine and inventive production. Pleasance Theatre’s main auditorium was a set out with tables rather than banks of auditorium seats, and the production took place on revolving stage, bare except for a metal construction of steps and stairs which was used inventively by the director, James Meteyard, for t...

16Mar

By Gemma PrinceNo Comments

London

COCK- Ambassadors Theatre

Written by Mike Bartlett and directed by Marianne Elliott, Olivier-award winning COCK tells the story of one half of a gay couple, known as John, who unexpectedly falls in love with a woman and as tensions rise, he struggles to decide what he truly wants and who he is. Bridgerton star Jonathan Bailey leads as the charming yet confused John, the only named character in the show, and stays on the stage for the entire performance (one hour and 45 minutes to be exact). Bailey is incredible to watch as we see John slowly unravel and his internal battle with himself was palpable. Bailey’s acting is stellar as he expertly switches between humorous outbursts and emotional turmoil. Golden Globe Award winner Taron Egerton plays John’s long-term partner M and is mesmerising in every scene he is...

Figs in Wigs: Little Wimmin – Southbank Centre

14Mar

By Carole GordonNo Comments

London

Figs in Wigs: Little Wimmin – Southbank Centre

Pitched somewhere between anarchic performance art and chaotic high-concept mockery of theatrical and literary analysis, the Figs in Wigs' satirical adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women" veers from Greek chorus, avant-garde dance to groan-ful puns and visual humour. Alcott's work, given an unnecessarily deep and pretentious analysis of the text can, the Figs suggest with tongues stuck firmly in cheeks, be linked to climate change, astrology, the future of humankind and the patriarchy. And cocktails. The five Figs in Wigs (Alice Roots, Sarah Moore, Suzanna Hurst, Rachel Gammon and Rachel Porter), rounding out the Southbank's Women of the World Festival in recognition of International Women's Day, give the show their all in their various roles, with impeccable chore...

13Mar

By Paul AckroydNo Comments

London

Ghosts of the Titanic – Park Theatre

The play is set in New York six months or so after the Titanic sank, and interest in the tragedy is waning. A young lady, who describes herself as the fiancé of one of the musicians, arrives trying to resolve some of the unexplained questions about the sinking. Why was there confusion about which tunes the band were playing as the ship went down? Why were the lookout's binoculars locked away? Why were the original distress calls ignored? Why did the ship set sail with a fire on board? Her questioning leads to issues surrounding the construction of the vessel, and even more sinister motivations for wanting the ship never to complete her maiden voyage. Playwright Ron Hutchinson has inventively used this most enduring of disaster stories to raise questions about conspiracy theories. These ...

10Mar

By Riana HowarthNo Comments

London

Fiji – Omnibus Theatre

Conflicted Theatre’s Fiji is a morbidly quirky two-hander between Nick and Sam. We are drawn in as we witness them meeting for the first time. There is a rawness and intimacy as a wet-haired Nick enters the room and it feels like we are also complicit and an unspoken part of their relationship. What appears to be a slightly awkward and unconventional first date takes a shocking turn. With hints at the characters’ back stories, it inspires the audience to psychoanalyse and question the two whilst also empathising with their situations. The writing is witty, fluid and dynamic as it explores taboo topics with ease, without forcing opinions. It switches between highly personal moments and more casual chit chat, which are both subtly emotionally charged. Pedro Leandro is impressive as gaw...