London Archives - Page 30 of 162

6Aug

By Stewart Who?No Comments

London

Echoes of Empire – Courtyard Theatre

When it comes to post-colonial mood music, Britain is in a league of its own. The symphonic sound of English Empire is often ugly tunes, tone-deaf lyrics and long broken instruments. Fellow colonial contenders such as the Dutch, Spanish or Portuguese tend to be guiltily mute about their marauding past or attempt to address their empirical history with glacial pace and limited scope. The United Kingdom can boast the biggest Empire, and possibly, the most monstrous legacy. British Empire has a habit of being viewed with a gobby pride which shouts down evidence of the brutal costs for former and current colonies. Britain continues to swerve a hard reckoning and often seeks to silence nuanced perspectives of Empire and many of the basic, but awkward facts. If the education system, media...

One Hundred and Thirty Thousand Squirrels in London (And I Want Them All To Love Me) – Canal Cafe

5Aug

By Kira DanielsNo Comments

London

One Hundred and Thirty Thousand Squirrels in London (And I Want Them All To Love Me) – Canal Cafe

Written and performed by Zoë Clayton-Kelly with a running time under an hour and no particular destination to reach in that time, One Hundred and Thirty Thousand Squirrels in London (And I Want Them All to Love Me) features surprisingly little mammalia but covers just about every other subject under the London sun. The cabaret features original tracks with names like ‘Existential Thoughts of a Freelancer’, ‘Floating Naked in a Magnesium Salt Bath with Your Mum’ and other similarly relatable tunes. Clayton-Kelly brings high-octane inanity to an incredibly varied set of specified circumstances and generalized anxieties. Clayton-Kelly is a capable performer and captures the audience’s attention with a panoply of props and a few tricks up her princess sleeves. Come join her on the...

4Aug

By Gemma PrinceNo Comments

London

Alone, Together – Bridewell Theatre

Directed and written by Francesca Woods, Alone, Together offers an insight into the lives of six teachers working at the same school. Wood goes beyond the “masks” that these teachers put on each day as they step into the classroom, exploring the numbing sense of loneliness that ties these very different people together. We see how these characters connect through three different stories, exploring everything from love to loss. More dramatic scenes are interspersed between more light-hearted moments that portray the development of these characters’ relationships with different songs setting the scene. These musically jarring moments were enjoyable but almost too brief, serving as a sort of filler between the main scene...

3Aug

By Stewart Who?No Comments

London

Romeo & Juliet – Courtyard Theatre

My last brush with Romeo and Juliet was at Wilton’s Music Hall 3 years ago for Rachel Garnet’s excellent Starcrossed, which focussed on the fractious relationship between Mercutio and Tybalt, but added an erotic queer twist to their violent passions. It was an audacious, yet clever spin on Shakespeare’s romantic tragedy and a prime example of the Romeo and Juliet Industrial Complex. From Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 blockbusting film (Romeo + Juliet) to Arthur Laurents’ musical, West Side Story, audiences are highly familiar with twists, takes and remixes of the most pop play from in the Bard’s canon. Adding another layer to this theatrical mille-feuille is Romeo and Juliet: Out of Pocket, devised by Argentinian playwright Emiliano Dionisi and directed by Alonso Íñiguez. This boldly inventiv...

2Aug

By Olivia CoxNo Comments

London

Spare Room – Hen & Chickens Theatre

As soon as you step into the Hen & Chickens Theatre, you’re immersed in the sticky world of Spare Room. A drunken girl flippantly tells you to “sit where you like”. Unconscious bodies slump over ratty furniture, grease-soaked pizza boxes line the floor, and dance music hums in the background. It’s an immediately familiar sight (shudder): a shared uni student house. The action kicks off with sweet Jodie (Georgina Housby) turning up at the grotty pad with a suitcase and admirable optimism as she introduces herself as the new occupant of the spare room. She initially thinks she has female company in the house after seeing a ‘Mary’ listed as a housemate in the online ad, only to find out that’s merely a bizarre nickname for a bloke called Richard — making her the only girl in a hous...

1Aug

By Kira DanielsNo Comments

London

The Diana Mixtape – HERE at Outernet

A “riotous royal romp” as reverent as it is raunchy, The Diana Mixtape is a hoot and a half! A jukebox musical as much as a drag concert, the show chronicles Diana’s life and love lustily. Photo: Harry Elletson Drag superstars Courtney Act, Priyanka, Divina De Campo, Rosé, and Kitty Scott-Claus shine as various iterations of the people’s princess each uniquely dolled up for the occasion and flanked by an inexhaustible army of backup dancers. Keala Seattle is resplendently regal as Queen Elizabeth but of the supporting cast it is Lucinda Lawrence who stuns and strikes as Camilla, a character so potently satirized that the audience boos hysterically from her first lighting cue. Both funny and fierce, this experience is a glorious camp celebration of both the real Diana and her actua...

1Aug

By Michelle KnightNo Comments

London

A Role to Die for – Marylebone Theatre

How do you cast the next James Bond? pick a random actor, man or choose to embark on a journey of stereotypical negotiation, whilst battling egos and judgemental decision making you might say no easy task. Come in A Role to Die for the Marylebone Theatre ‘has been expecting you’. Don your black dinner attire and join HQ and become an insider to the best kept secret ever, who will be the next Bond. Jordan Waller’s play written five years ago was based on his personal experience of having casting difficulties, “when a famous actor and Knight of the realm pulled out last minute and ruined everything “. From a flippant remark of thank God they weren’t casting James Bond! A Role to Die For was created a perfect subject for a play. Waller’s exploratory process of Bond was one of traditi...

Medea the Musical – Upstairs at The Gatehouse

31Jul

By Stewart Who?No Comments

London

Medea the Musical – Upstairs at The Gatehouse

If the Camden Fringe summons visions of damp carpets and edgy comics managing onstage meltdowns, ‘cause it’s easier than getting therapy on the NHS, then The Musical Medea added another dimension entirely. Upstairs at the Gatehouse is an award-winning Off West End theatre in leafy Highgate Village. The hilly avenues feel painfully civilised after the grunge and crackpipe vibes of Camden. It’s a refurbished 1895 auditorium, which sits above the Gatehouse pub and has the distinction of being London’s ‘top’ theatre (at 446ft above sea level). Historically, the venue has been a music hall, cinema, Masonic lodge, and a jazz and folk music club that once hosted Paul Simon. The ‘60s spirit of that iconic singer/songwriter greeted the audience of The Musical Medea as they wandered into the...

31Jul

By Olivia CoxNo Comments

London

Second Class Queer – Theatro Technis

Opening with a beautiful dance sequence that takes a ghastly turn to reveal the news of a horrifying homophobic attack, Kumar Muniandy’s solo play Second Class Queer is a raw exploration of identity through the lens of race, sexuality, and post-colonialism. Muniandy portrays Krishna, a queer Indian Malaysian man who is living in Berlin, where he attends a gay speed dating event. This event provides the framework for the majority of the 60-minute play as we watch Krishna chat with five different men, each conversation slowly revealing Krishna’s buried trauma and guilt over his role in his mother’s death. It’s a clever structural device that lends itself to some interesting dialogue and light humour — delivered with plenty of charm by Muniandy — but many of the conversations feel m...

31Jul

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

London

Macbeth – Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Arriving in London from a sold-out season in Melbourne, The Australian Shakespeare Company brings Macbeth to the beautiful Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew. Played outdoors, the sun sets, and darkness encroaches as much as it does within Macbeth providing a haunting atmosphere. Hugh Sexton and Nicole Nabout as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have strong chemistry and a magnetism between them, helping the relationship feel absolutely real. Sexton shines in the big moments, his ‘and tomorrow’ soliloquy is a highlight. Nabout really sells Lady Macbeth's journey into madness. Both excel as the story goes on and they move from their shared ambition into isolation and guilt. While the grief of Macduff is well presented by Jackson McGovern, a little more time would have been appreciated in particular ...