London Archives - Page 25 of 124

14Jun

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

London

Andréa Chenier – Royal Opera House

David McVicar’s spectacular staging of Umberto Giordano’s epic verismo opera of revolution and forbidden love from 2015 is brought back to life by Revival Director Thomas Guthrie with the orchestra under the baton of Antonio Pappano in his last production as Music Director of The Royal Opera. At a glittering party in 18th-century Paris there are distinctly two tiers of society on display from the lowly footman Gérard (Amartuvshin Enkhbat) who follows in the footsteps of his father who has been in service for sixty years, to the sumptuous host, Contessa di Coigny (Rosalind Plowright), whose daughter Maddalena (Sondra Radvanovsky) straddles both as she eschews the fancy dress and faux manners in favour of intellectual discussion, so when the poet Andréa Chenier (Jonas Kaufmann) delivers a...

13Jun

By Michelle KnightNo Comments

London

Babies: The Musical – The Other Palace

After a rise in teenage pregnancies a school sex education department felt compelled to act and educate their year 11 students by rolling out a 5-day project in which the students were given their own baby to ‘parent’. Let the mayhem begin. Babies is a new (born) rock fuelled musical featuring nine, year 11 classmates who whilst living through their own personal life challenges, of being teenagers and self-discovery dealing with interrelations not only with their families lives but with each other had the task of being responsible for someone else, a baby! The story follows each character and their personal journey and tribulations of comparisons, judgements and relationships. It is funny, energetic and uplifting peppered with real serious moments of challenges they face day to day. Rig...

Kathy & Stella Solve a Murder! – Ambassadors Theatre

13Jun

By Zara OdetundeNo Comments

London

Kathy & Stella Solve a Murder! – Ambassadors Theatre

The true crime genre of entertainment has had a strange rise to prominence in recent years and has a grip on people interested in mystery and criminal events. There are many ways to consume true crime content and many people love true crime podcasts, this show is a culmination of these things: a fictional true crime podcast hosted by Kathy and Stella. Following two seasons at the Edinburgh Fringe and a UK tour, the show is premiering in the West End. Kathy and Stella are two late twenty somethings who have been friends for most of their lives. They have both been othered for their obsession with death and fascination with true crime cases. They host a true crime podcast and inadvertently become involved in the murder case of one of their favourite true crime authors. We have a murder my...

12Jun

By Zoё MeeresNo Comments

London

Miss Julie – Park Theatre

August Strindberg’s Miss Julie formed part of my GCSE drama syllabus, so I approached yesterday’s performance with a warm, hazy nostalgic feeling. A classic love/lust between the classes scandal, set in the midst of wild and carefree Midsummer celebrations – maybe this production would compensate for the current lack of summer and merriment London currently seems to be experiencing and I’d be able to lose myself in high drama and raw passion for a short while. Kit Hinchcliffe’s traditional set is detailed for the relatively small space, with the action so close that you can see and sometimes even smell everything that’s happening in front of you. Servants (and partners) Jean (Freddie Wild) and Christine (Adeline Waby) are setting about their evening when the Count’s daughter, Miss Julie...

Black is the Color of My Voice – Stratford East

12Jun

By Zain RussellNo Comments

London

Black is the Color of My Voice – Stratford East

"Black is the Color of My Voice" is a captivating one-woman theatre production, both written and performed by the incredible Apphia Campbell. The show is inspired by the real life of Nina Simone and the show takes the audience on an emotional journey of reflection and revelation. Entering the performance, I knew little about Nina Simone's life and was only familiar with her famous hit "I Put a Spell on You." The production centers on Simone conversing with her late father, sharing poignant stories from her life and expressing her profound grief. Through these conversations, the audience gains insight into Simone's transformation from a young piano prodigy to a powerful voice in the Civil Rights Movement. The show effectively highlights Simone's impact as an activist, emphasising ...

Franz Kafka’s The Hunger Artist – Etcetera Theatre

11Jun

By Riana HowarthNo Comments

London

Franz Kafka’s The Hunger Artist – Etcetera Theatre

Franz Kafka’s The Hunger Artist - Etcetera Theatre Mesmeric, painfully expressive, and disturbingly comforting, Jonathan Sidgwick brings Kafka’s final work to life. Caged, centre stage, we find a man who revives himself to tell the tragic tale of the Hunger Artist, a man who devoted his life to his craft, to fasting. We see the hunger artist’s plight at the hands of a disinterested audience, (but also due to his own fixation), as he is forced to downgrade from a solo-travelling act that brought in masses to a sad, sideshow act that viewers see as a hindrance. With outstretched fingers and ever-widening eyes, blooming with the peculiar expression of the tormented hunger artist, you could feel his hunger for express and his appetite for reward, and release. He performed and flaunted th...

Suite in Three Keys – Orange Tree Theatre

9Jun

By Kira DanielsNo Comments

London

Suite in Three Keys – Orange Tree Theatre

Comprised of the individual plays, A Song at Twilight, Shadows of the Evening, and Come into the Garden, Maud, the latter two offered as a double bill, this is a hefty theatrical event for both performer and audience. Directed by Tom Littler, the Orange Tree Theatre’s Artistic Director, this production makes thorough use of the theatre’s performance facilities, and even positions one of its actors in the bar during pre-show and interval to serenade audiences in dulcet Italian tones with songs of the plays’ era. Referred to in each script simply as “Felix, a waiter” this Mediterranean songbird, played with charming humility and buoyant grace by Steffan Rizzi, provides the melodic throughline linking each piece to the other. The set, designed by Louie Whitemore is also remarkably consiste...

8Jun

By Kira DanielsNo Comments

London

Marie Curie – Charing Cross Theatre

A woman scientist!? The woman scientist. Marie Curie, a new musical written by Seeun Choun and Jongyoon Choi fleshes out the story of a scientific pioneer who put her own body on the line in order to secure both a scientific and feminist legacy. Whether or not this was her intention or merely a by-product of her inexhaustible efforts to unearth more information about radioactivity is not a question this play entirely answers over the course of its approximately hour and forty minute run time. Narrated by Marie (Alisa Davidson) but seen from the hazy imagined perspective of her daughter Irène Curie (Lucy Young) this play is very much concerned with the legacies passed between mothers and daughters and the value of role models. With English lyrics, new musical arrangements and musical dir...

Diva! Live from Hell! – King’s Head Theatre

8Jun

By Zain RussellNo Comments

London

Diva! Live from Hell! – King’s Head Theatre

Diva: Live from Hell! is a one-man musical performed by the sensational Luke Bayer. If you're anything like me, you might be sceptical about how one person can pull off a musical solo. Well, brace yourself to be engulfed by the flames of hell as you dive into a story that's unbelievably hot and laugh-out-loud funny. Bayer is an absolute menace on stage, seamlessly shifting between characters and embracing the role of an extravagant diva with exceptional ease, all while belting out great and catchy songs. This show is incredibly camp and nothing short of enjoyable from start to finish. The story starts off with a high school musical vibe, complete with catchy songs and energetic dances. It touches on themes of self-discovery and sexuality before spiralling down a devilish path, where the...

A View From The Bridge – Theatre Royal Haymarket

5Jun

By Eleanor HallNo Comments

London

A View From The Bridge – Theatre Royal Haymarket

Arthur Miller’s encapsulating tragedy of the 1950s stands the test of time. This production remains faithful to Miller’s story centred on an American-Italian family, which brews themes of blood, honour, love and instinct, to ultimately boil beneath the skin of the law and authorities. Eddie, our protagonist, beholds a tangled idea of himself as his niece Kathryn’s father-lover. Throughout the course of the action, he pursues what he believes to be just for his niece. It is in this warped sense of justice that Eddie’s anger and self-martyrisation become wrapped up in his ideals of nationalism, patriarchy, and a fostered fatherhood. The set was comprised of contemporary facades of buildings, perhaps emphasising the protective walls between the immigrant family members and authority, and e...