London Archives - Page 2 of 166

25Jun

By Carole GordonNo Comments

London

Monarchs Anonymous – The Other Palace

"We live in our own timeline and are judged by the next" What happens when a group of royals, transported from various periods of history, join a therapy session and talk about their feelings? The massive egos of Henry VIII, Marie Antoinette, Charles II, Sophia Duleep Singh and Mansa Musa inevitably clash, resulting in jousting matches and fist fights. They reluctantly do the therapist's exercises, all trying to outdo one another. When the existence of the Monarchs' Anonymous sessions are leaked to the press, the group find themselves having to put their egos to one side to work together, revealing some deep truths and traumas of their lives in the process. On its surface, Monarchs' Anonymous, written by Nadia Devereux, Joshua Poole and Lyon Devereux, is a jolly surreal r...

25Jun

By Savitha VenugopalNo Comments

London

The Truth – Apollo Theatre

Camouflaged behind rip-roaring humour is a tale of deceit and infidelity. Though the lies look straightforward to begin with, in a while you find yourself out of depth. Who is lying, and who is telling the truth? Is there even a single version of the truth? Written by Florian Zeller and directed by Lindsay Posner, this is the story of two cheating couples. Michel is having an affair with Alice, his best friend Paul’s wife. As seen in several other similar setups, the woman is emotionally attached and wants to spend more time together, while the man is in it only for the physical connection and cannot see anything lacking in the arrangement as it is – hotel room rendezvous between meetings. Things begin to go awry when Alice is struck by a case of guilty conscience. She is haunted by ...

Barnum: The Circus Musical – Richmond Theatre

24Jun

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

Barnum: The Circus Musical – Richmond Theatre

There are revivals that simply revisit a beloved classic, and then there are productions that completely reinvent it for a contemporary audience while preserving everything that made it special in the first place. This latest revival of ‘Barnum’ achieves exactly that. This vibrant touring production has arrived at Richmond Theatre bursting with colour, spectacle and seemingly boundless circus energy, and creating a celebration of theatrical imagination. From the moment the curtain rises, the production embraces the organised chaos that surrounded the life and legend of P.T. Barnum. The stage becomes a playground of constant movement, with astonishing circus artistry seamlessly woven into absolutely every scene. Rather than feeling like separate variety acts inserted between songs, the b...

19Jun

By Saloni SanwalkaNo Comments

London

Camdenwalla – Camden People’s Theatre

There are some works of art which one wishes were fiction and Camdenwalla is one of them. The play takes us back to 1990s Camden, when racism against the British-Bangladeshi community was at an all-time high. Amidst police indifference emerged the Camden Monitoring Project, an organisation run by local volunteers which functioned as a helpline of sorts and kept meticulous record of the details of each attack. Camdenwalla is a snapshot of an average night for one of these volunteers, Muhammad, as he races to extinguish the embers of violence before they catch. The first few minutes of the show perfectly capture the period’s unease. Bhasker Patel, in a truly magnetic turn as Muhammad, tries to go about his routine but gives himself away with fleeting glances towards a locked door, wai...

19Jun

By Paul AckroydNo Comments

London

Miraculous – Kings Head Theatre

This is a play about the Christian religion, authority and the interpretation of the Bible. It takes place in a Christian camp in the Oregon Mountains where Josh, a young student has been sent by his parents, and the retreat is overseen by a zealous young pastor, Paul, who has daily mentoring sessions with Josh. In these sessions Josh, at best a lukewarm Christian, tests his pastor's faith with challenges about what he reads in the Bible and Christian interpretations of sex, forgiveness and miracles. This is not a play with deep theological debate. Josh's questions are fairly simplistic; the sort everyone asks from time to time, and Paul's responses are less satisfactory and thoughtful than one would expect from a well-educated cleric placed in a position of authority over young p...

19Jun

By Stewart Who?No Comments

London

Mrs Dalloway – Wilton’s Music Hall

Virginia Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway is a book with a formidable reputation. Its seismic cultural impact is still fascinating to ponder a century later. Occasionally, a work of art will emerge in society that causes a ripple on the lake of consciousness, creating waves for years to come. This novel falls into that rare category. Woolf isn’t the only one credited with heralding modernism, but she wears some very big boots in that department. Adding to Woolf’s power is the fact the Department of Modernism is mostly filled with men. As is life. Woolf not only kicked against the patriarchy, but linked men’s power to the horrors of colonialism, war and poor mental health. Woolf may have pointed out the factually obvious, but it was almost unsayable at the time. The world woke up. Feminism, sexu...

17Jun

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

RON – Riverside Studios

RON is one of those rare productions that refuses to stay in a single genre and is all the better for it. What begins as something familiar, a stand-up comedy act, quickly spirals into an increasingly surreal, dark comedy that constantly keeps its audience guessing. Every time you think you've understood where the story is heading, it gleefully pulls the rug from beneath you and quite literally lifts the curtain on a wildly inventive theatrical experience. The direction (Ted Walliker and Lev Govorovski) is razor sharp, maintaining an impressive pace while allowing every twist to land with maximum impact. There is a real confidence behind the production, balancing absurd comedy with moments of genuine unease without ever feeling forced. It is an ambitious piece that could easily have col...

Eat the Rich (but maybe not me mates x) – Soho Theatre

17Jun

By Saloni SanwalkaNo Comments

London

Eat the Rich (but maybe not me mates x) – Soho Theatre

Jade Franks’ one-woman show, Eat the Rich (but maybe not me mates x), has had a fairytale run. Its sold-out debut at Edinburgh Fringe last year marked Franks out as a breakout talent and the excitement has carried her from London to Melbourne and even Netflix offices. Its return to the Soho Theatre this June is accompanied by a similar buzz which, for the most part, is warranted. The semi-autobiographical show is sharply written and draws the audience into the world of Jade, a Liverpudlian scholar, as she navigates her first year at Cambridge University. It is a caustic commentary on the cultural and class-based divisions which overwhelm her experience, almost to the point of caricature. The posh students are ignorant and nasty, and the professors are technologically challenged crows. ...

A Life in Four Seasons – Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

16Jun

By Saloni SanwalkaNo Comments

London

A Life in Four Seasons – Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

As the last of Vivaldi’s descending runs in L’inverno (“Winter”) hurtles towards a ritardando at cliff’s edge, bringing the show to a close, every single person in Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre is on their feet. The 16-dancer ensemble stands arms-linked and beaming and even the birds chirp their appreciation. It is the most inevitable of standing ovations for a triumphant showcase of dance, music, and theatre. A Life in Four Seasons, set to the eponymous work by Antonio Vivaldi, is a production in four segments, with each part representing a season in one’s life and the forces which determine their course. Spring marks the beginning and introduces us to the Heart, the Head, and the Gut at the point of self-discovery. They move with the awkwardness and buoyancy of youth, all-smiles and ...

13Jun

By Michelle KnightNo Comments

London

War Horse – National Theatre

War Horse is a two hour twenty-minute spectacle of sublime animated visuals and skilful puppetry. A story that gets to the heart of the atrocities and impact of World War 1 on the men, families and the cavalry horses involved in conflict. The play introduces Joey as a foal a horse bred to become a fine racing horse who finds his way to a farm. In the mists of desperation, the family need to earn a living, Joey now needs to become a draft horse ploughing fields and supporting the family. Ted and Rose Narracott task their 16yr old son Albert to care for and train Joey to perform the enviable duties of ploughing, hauling and work as an agricultural horse. As time moved on Albert and Joey form a special bond of shared love, friendship and survival At the time of the outbreak of the first...