London Archives - Page 2 of 151

20Jan

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

Later Life Letter – Southbank Centre

‘Later Life Letter’, a book of poems, written and performed by Luke Wright, is a quietly extraordinary piece of contemporary, poetic storytelling that reminds us of the power of spoken word when it is rooted in lived experience and delivered with absolute sincerity. This autobiographical work blends poetry, memoir, and stand-up storytelling to explore Wright’s very personal experience of adoption and the complex questions of identity, belonging, and family that follow him into adulthood. Structured as a reflective “later life letter” (a letter written to adopted children, to be opened at a later point in their life), the show unfolds with clarity and confidence, allowing the poetry to do the emotional heavy lifting without ever tipping into sentimentality. Each piece feels carefully sha...

The Olive Boy – Southwark Playhouse Borough

20Jan

By Olivia CoxNo Comments

London

The Olive Boy – Southwark Playhouse Borough

In Ollie Maddigan’s The Olive Boy, he tells us how his mum used to compare him to the stoned fruit not only because he was born with a condition where his skin looked green, but because he is “pure and sweet”. Of course, Maddigan thinks this is “bullshit” — everyone knows olives are bitter and too salty. This story feels like the perfect way to summarise Maddigan’s solo show, now playing at Southwark Playhouse Borough. In his portrayal of his 15-year-old self, over 70 minutes we see classic teenage delusions, selfishness and crassness slowly melt away to reveal a truly sweet heart at the centre of this very funny show about love and grief. As the sole performer on stage, with nothing more than a chair for a set piece, Maddigan is an absolute firecracker who immediately has the au...

16Jan

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

London

Hamlet – National Theatre Live

Theatre should be for the many, and not the few, so by bringing ‘National Theatre Live’ into the cinema, and ‘National Theatre at Home’ to your armchair, there is more chance than ever for everyone to enjoy theatre. On the 22nd January, Hamlet will be available to watch on a cinema screen near you, and William Shakespeare’s tragic play, will be accessible within the medium of film. Although live performance will always be the best way to experience theatre, this runs at a pretty close second! Hamlet (for those who have yet to experience the play), is a young prince who resides in Elsinore, Denmark, who returns from university to find that his father the King is dead, and that within a month of his death, his mother has married his Uncle Claudius (Alistair Petrie). These events d...

15Jan

By Charles PipeNo Comments

London

Natalie Palamides: WEER – Soho Theatre

Fresh from a run at New York’s Cherry Lane Theatre, Natalie Palamides’s one-woman romcom WEER, returns to London. Palamides plays both sides of the couple; her left side is Kristina, and her right side is Mark, and her hair, makeup, and multiple costumes are all split down the middle. Palamides’s performance is spectacular. By turning a different side of her body to the audience, and totally altering her voice and physicality, she switches back and forth seamlessly between the two characters at breakneck speed. She extremely skilfully and hilariously depicts arguments, physical struggles, and lovemaking between the two characters, and throughout the 85-minute show she mines this setup for all the comedic gold it contains to constantly deliver new, unexpected, hysterical gags. Palamides ...

11Jan

By Ralph JeffreysNo Comments

London

Ghost In Your Ear – Hampstead Theatre

A Ghost In Your Ear is set in a recording studio, where an actor, George, has turned up late to record a job at short notice, so short he hasn’t read the script yet. It turns out it’s a horror story. As he and his friend, the sound engineer Sid, settle into a night of work, things gradually start to seem amiss. The story on the pages begins to escape them and soon George begins to see things. From there, we are plunged into a full-on horror show. The central question for a show like this is can it get your heart racing? The production comes through that test easily. Beyond employing many tried and tested horror methods, the show uses a binaural head – a microphone shaped like a human head that picks up the location of a given sound – to amp up the intensity. It is simply more engaging t...

Paranormal Activity – Ambassador’s Theatre

9Jan

By Zain RussellNo Comments

London

Paranormal Activity – Ambassador’s Theatre

Paranormal Activity, the iconic horror film franchise known to terrify cinema audiences worldwide, has successfully made the leap from screen to stage in a chilling and immersive theatrical production. From the very first moment, the audience is plunged into complete darkness, immediately creating an atmosphere of unease that never truly releases its grip. This bold opening choice sets the tone perfectly, preparing us for a night of suspense, fear, and psychological tension. Written with precision by Levi Holloway and directed masterfully by Felix Barrett, the production is cleverly constructed to draw the audience deep into the emotional and supernatural journey of its characters. Rather than relying solely on shock tactics, the play allows tension to build gradually, making every mome...

9Jan

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

London

Orphans – Jermyn Street Theatre

Orphans was written by Philadelphia-born Lyle Kessler and first staged in 1983, directed by Gary Sinise at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre, before going on to a successful Off-Broadway run. Later, in 1986, the play transferred to London’s West End, earning Albert Finney an Olivier Award, followed by a filmed version in 1987. Set in Philadelphia, two brothers, Treat (Chris Walley) and Phillip (Fred Woodley Evans), live a strange life brought on by the abandonment of their father at an early age and the death of their mother. Treat, the elder brother, takes his role as caretaker seriously and has instilled an unhealthy fear of the outside world into Phillip in order to keep him from harm. But what effect will a stranger entering their small world have on the brothers’ relationship? Set d...

6Jan

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

Jack – Courtyard Theatre

Having celebrated previously successful runs, ‘Jack’ (the musical) arrives in London with a gothic-electro music fusion bringing the vibes of Victorian London crashing into the modern day. This is an intriguing and exciting concept, based around the story of “Jack The Ripper”, and within Sahar Malaika’s storytelling there are moments of genuine promise, but the execution of this production ultimately falls well short of the standard expected on a professional stage. At its core, the ‘Jack’ suffers from a lack of cohesive artistic vision from Co-Directors Rosie Sutton and Sasha Ranawake. Casting choices feel under-baked and poorly considered, with very young performers presented to the world without a clear or consistent aesthetic. Facial jewellery, modern bleached hair highlights, m...

30Dec

By Stewart Who?No Comments

London

Boys in the Buff – Golden Goose Theatre

The history of nudity on stage is a rich, epic and often hilarious subject. It is also a bit tawdry and sporadically ugly. From the semi-nude stationary women in 1950s Soho clubs, posing in ‘Classical’ tableaux to handfuls of dirty old men, to the “theatrical Viagra” of a naked Nicole Kidman in the Donmar’s production of The Blue Room, bare titillation for cold cash remains a consistent hot potato. Bond hopeful and Happy Valley star, James Norton got naked in the harrowing stage adaptation of Hanya Yanagihara ’s A Little Life. Despite the play’s relentless themes of suicide, self-harm and paedophilia, audience members sneaked snaps of a nudey Norton and posted them on social media. Live nudity has potential to be fire. This is its undeniable power, and also it’s filthy flaw. The na...

22Dec

By Charles PipeNo Comments

London

The Highgate Vampire – Omnibus Theatre

Based loosely on real events, The Highgate Vampire is a dark comedy play which follows the occurrences surrounding reported supernatural sightings near Highgate Cemetery in the late 1960s. Alexander Knott plays a Mark-from-Peep-Show-esque, self-serious, uptight Catholic priest/exorcist. James Demaine contrasts as a flamboyant psychic investigator with a flair for the dramatic. Together, they deliver a lecture on how they supposedly defeated the Highgate Vampire, although with the psychic investigator’s showy influence the lecture ends up more like a theatrical play, replete with props, costumes, and lighting effects. Even as the characters butt heads, there is good chemistry between the performers, both comedically and in the more tender and sincere moments. Knott makes for an excellent...