London Archives - Page 27 of 111

29Jan

By Kira DanielsNo Comments

London

Northanger Abbey – Orange Tree Theatre

Northanger Abbey? I hardly know ‘er! Zoe Cooper’s transformative adaptation of Austen’s offbeat gothic satire reinvents the much-neglected classic, leaning into its absurd humor, and imbuing it with a novel gravitas. Eschewing the modernizing impulse that so often muddies queer retellings of canonical works, this adaptation remains firmly rooted in the time and place of its origin and weaves a compelling original story out of each of the book’s special strands. This play packs a punch but doesn’t quite hit the spot. Designer Hannah Sibai’s work makes a most pleasing first impression. The cozy in-the-round Orange Tree Theatre is decked out in all hot pink and bedazzled with no less than seven chandeliers. A light aroma of fog pervades the space, hinting at the gothic vibes to come in the...

29Jan

By Anisha PucadyilNo Comments

London

Heart – Brixton House

‘Heart’ is a Coming-of-age love note to the ones who are still holding on to hate and to the ones who have still not been able to take that leap of faith. It has a beating pulse of the many trials and tribulations one goes through to be able to accept oneself in all our queer glory. The debut show of Jade Anouka’ platforms her personal experience and gives it all her heart and soul. Her rhyming poetry and performance are accompanied by live music and sound design by musician and four-time UK Beatbox champion Grace Savage. It's beautiful to see Grace intently watch Jade, knowing that they must have gone over this a million times, accompanying her movement with bass, her emotion with grounded beats. It's delightful to witness the synergy they share and would love Jade to be more physic...

26Jan

By Kira DanielsNo Comments

London

Last Rites – Shoreditch Town Hall

Devised and performed by Ramesh Meyyappan, this 65-minute work covers a broad swath of one family’s history. Beginning with one man’s arrival in India, accompanied by his young son, on a journey to lay his estranged father to rest, Meyyappan, the solitary performer, alone on stage throughout the show but for the most minimal of props, embodies all three generations. His performance is physically impressive and well directed by co-creator George Mann. An early comedic interlude depicting a series of cooking mishaps especially allows Meyyappan’s gifts to shine. Although rife with comedic moments the overall tone of the show is sobering, and it takes its subject matter seriously. As Meyyappan performs rituals over the body that is in turns both his own and his imagination’s, audiences are ...

26Jan

By Alice RoseNo Comments

London

Forgiving (my mother) – The Glitch

Performed in a small space at The Glitch, this devised performance was an intimate piece set in a ‘rehearsal room’ with two actors practicing a scene with two sisters discussing their mother who had recently had a fight with them. It is as if we are with them and apart of the creative process as their character’s adapt and shape a scene of a play they’re rehearsing. The performance will stop as one actor will question why this line is here, whether that would be a true response and how thoughtless the mother seemed to be. They lead discussions about theatre and its reason, the purpose of understanding our own trauma and the hilarity of being apart of an opinion but one’s only contribution is writing a play and moving on from it. The actors are really in their element here, shaping this tex...

26Jan

By Carole GordonNo Comments

London

Rita Lynn – Turbine Theatre

Louise Marwood's one-woman performance is informed by her own lived experience, a dark tale of depression, drink, drugs and self-deprecation. "Rita Lynn" lays bare the life of an addict who struggles to break free from the grip of cocaine after her dance career has failed. Imogen has lost everything; with her drug addiction enabled by her toxic boyfriend and dealer Dexter, and her drag queen pal Melian, also an addict. Imogen spirals from overdose to overdose between occasional unsuccessful trips to AA meetings. Then, purely by accident and in a moment of drug-induced delusion, she offers to counsel a wealthy woman as a life coach, adopting the name Rita Lynn. She sees this as an encouraging new start, a way forward out of her chaotic lifestyle and a release from the trauma of her pa...

26Jan

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

London

Rusalka – Royal Opera House

Created and directed by Natalie Abrahami and Ann Yee, who is also the choreographer, the contemporary whilst still traditional new staging of this lyrical fairy tale captures nature’s impassioned plea to humanity whilst musically only Dvořák can break your heart so beautifully. From an exquisite aerial ballet reflecting the delicate balance between nature and humanity at the start, three wood spirits (Vuvu Mpofu, Gabriele Kupšyte and Anne Marie Stanley) playfully tease Vodník (Alexei Isaev), an immortal water spirit. All seems to be perfect but his daughter, Rusalka (Asmik Grigorian) longs to be united with the Prince (David Butt Philip) with whom she fell in love when he swam in the lake. Despite being warned about the seductive dangers of humanity that promises much whilst deliveri...

The Most Precious of Goods – Marylebone Theatre

24Jan

By Michelle KnightNo Comments

London

The Most Precious of Goods – Marylebone Theatre

The staging is set in a leaf filled forest woodland, the feeling is sombre the audience full of anticipation of what this story has to unfold about the atrocities, war crimes on humanity, the deliberate genocide during World War 2, the German invasion. The story initially focusses on a young Jewish family, who are new parents of newborn twins, full of zest for life and feeling blessed with their two children, a boy a girl. It was spring, 1942 their life full of opportunity until, they were freshly extricated from their home in France and put on a train to somewhere! Unknowing of what was to come and what they would endure the family with others, cramped into small spaces, no food or water would share their anguish and realisations during this gruelling journey, as to their destinatio...

22Jan

By Paul AckroydNo Comments

London

Fire Embers Ash – Barons Court Theatre

This play by Hailey Mashburn tells the little-known story of the establishment by the Soviet Union of the first all-female aviation regiment to fight against the Nazis in the Second World War. Apparently, the regiments were created by Stalin after pressure from one of the early aviators Marina Raskova, portrayed in this play by Henrietta Laursen in the role of commander. The establishment of the unit was controversial and looked down upon by many of their male colleagues. They were only allocated old and decrepit planes and had to wear ill-fitting male uniforms. Nevertheless, they distinguished themselves, and were nicknamed by the Nazis as the " Night Witches". The title which they adopted themselves with pride. To overcome the deficiencies of their equipment...

20Jan

By Kira DanielsNo Comments

London

Look Behind You – Theatre at the Tabard

The 25th anniversary performance of Strut & Fret’s Look Behind You features a completely updated book both classic in its recognizable theatrical tropes and urgent in its relevance to the present moment in arts and commerce. Daniel Wain’s love letter to “the bitchiest, barmiest, bravest business of them all,” encompasses the wide range of characters and character flaws that make a theatre tick. Set during the run of Christmas pantomime, Dick Whittington, at the aptly if unsubtly named, “Britannia” this play minces no words. Subtlety is wholly eschewed and in its absence something urgent, theatrical, and true, prevails. No matter how dazzling the script, and believe me it is dazzling, this is the kind of show in which one sour note might poison the whole symphony. Fortunately, each a...

Cruel Intentions: The ‘90s Musical – The Other Palace

20Jan

By Zoё MeeresNo Comments

London

Cruel Intentions: The ‘90s Musical – The Other Palace

I will tell anyone who will listen that the ‘90s was a golden age for music. I don’t know if everyone feels that way about the music of their coming-of-age decade, but let us also remember that the ‘90s gave us The Spice Girls, No Doubt, Britney Spears… So, taking a cult ‘90s film and turning into a musical featuring classic tunes from the same era was always going to peak my interest. I’d not been to The Other Palace - just around the corner from some of Victoria’s better known theatres - before, and I really wish I’d discovered it sooner. It’s a great space with comfy seats and a fancy gin bar - what’s not to like? So far, so good… The piece opens with a stellar full cast performance - you can spot Kathryn (Rhianne-Louise McCaulsley) with her cold confidence and Daniel Barvo’s Seba...