London Archives - Page 32 of 148

14Feb

By Ralph JeffreysNo Comments

London

More Life – The Royal Court

More Life is an exceptional and bold production, taking an ambitious and complex story and realising it expertly on stage. The play takes us inside the research lab of Edius, who are trying to upload the consciousness of dead people back into new, robotic bodies. After many failed attempts, Bridget is uploaded, and the promising signs she displays lead Victor (Marc Elliott) into a spiralling obsession with making her ‘work’, no matter her suffering and despite the objections of his lab assistant, Mike (Lewis Mackinnon). This torment leads Bridget (Alison Halstead) to break free of her captivity, running to the only place she can, the house of her former husband, Harry (Tim McMullan), and his wife Davina (Helen Schlesinger). Through this, the play explores the ethics of this search for ‘...

14Feb

By Klervi GavetNo Comments

London

Ordinary Madness – Riverside Studios

“There’s a bluebird in my heart that wants to get out, but I pour whiskey on him and inhale cigarette smoke.” Bukowski’s famous poem opens Ordinary Madness, the latest literature-based production from international ensemble company Art Theatre London. Cleverly staged into a series of sleek vignettes, the production attempts to stitch together Bukowski’s short stories and poems, but something crucial fails to connect. Bukowski’s world is dirty, grim, and visceral — his words make you taste the cigarette smoke, smell the sweat, and inhale the sensual perversion of our human condition. Here, under Anya Viller’s direction, the show too often feels like a sleek Drama Center showcase of its best and brightest: too safe, too clean, too polished. The young, dynamic cast struggles to capture ...

Boys From The Blackstuff – Richmond Theatre

13Feb

By Olivia CoxNo Comments

London

Boys From The Blackstuff – Richmond Theatre

James Graham is one of the most celebrated playwrights working in the UK today, and Boys From The Blackstuff is one of the newest jewels in his crown. Starting off at Liverpool’s Royal Court in 2023 before transferring to the National Theatre and the Garrick Theatre last year, Boys From The Blackstuff is now embarking on a UK tour to treat more audiences across the country to its masterful blend of brilliant writing, heartbreaking characters, and deeply evocative depiction of 1980’s Liverpool. Based on Alan Bleasdale’s era-defining BBC drama of the same name, Boys From The Blackstuff weaves together the stories of five men: Dixie (Mark Womack), Chrissie (George Caple), Loggo (Jurell Carter), Yosser (Jay Johnson), and George (Ged Mckenna). As we watch them navigate life in a city plunged...

12Feb

By Klervi GavetNo Comments

London

The Screen Test – Seven Dials Playhouse

Bebe Cave’s one-woman show The Screen Test is a bonkers, non-stop romp offering a vivid glimpse into the tragicomedic life of fictional Betsy Bittersly—a neurotic, self-absorbed actress struggling to make her mark in 1930s-40s Hollywood. In a desperate bid for stardom, Betsy bends over backwards to meet every soul-crushing demand of a man-dominated, consumer-obsessed industry, even rebranding herself (from Betsy Bittersly to the cocktail-sounding Betsy Bitters) in an effort to be instantly palatable. Writer and performer Bebe Cave takes us on a wild ride from her very first screen test to her final one. Over the course of an hour, the ever-delusional Betsy encounters — and entertains, with a big, unflinching smile — every variety of perv and power player the industry has to offer. H...

10Feb

By Paul AckroydNo Comments

London

The Years – Harold Pinter Theatre

This is a very engrossing and imaginative dramatisation of Annie Emaux's partly autobiographical book. It charts the progress of a woman's life chronologically from 1941 to 2006. The woman is unnamed, as are all the men and women that she comes into contact with. The play uses five actresses of different ages to sequentially play the different periods of her life as she experiences childhood, adolescence, early sexual encounters, including a rather horrific abortion, and then moves through marriage, motherhood and divorce. The changing social mores, political events, technological changes and the evolving consumer society of those 80 years are the accompaniment to the changes in her own life. The Years was formerly presented at the Almeida Theatre to great critical acclaim. The stagi...

8Feb

By Olivia CoxNo Comments

London

Heaven – Southwark Playhouse

Of all the events in the social calendar, there are few with such potential to cause rifts, drama, and an onslaught of confusing emotions as a family wedding. In Eugene O’Brien’s Heaven, it’s this event that offers us a lens through which to observe the floundering marriage of long-time spouses Mal (Andrew Bennett) and Mairead (Janet Moran). While both characters are featured throughout, we never see them interact, instead hearing their differing accounts of Mairead’s sister’s wedding through a series of alternating monologues in which both characters speak candidly to the audience. As well as painting a colourful picture of the wedding, dancefloor scraps and dodgy speeches included, Mairead and Mal give the audience highly personal and often vulnerable insights into their lives and ...

5Feb

By Ralph JeffreysNo Comments

London

Vanya Is Alive – Omnibus Theatre

Vanya is alive is a unique play, telling the story of political censorship and the realities of war in Russia today. In its current form, it is calling out for a more complete staging, with moments of excellence not translating into a production that fully explores its own potential. The play focuses on Alya, whose son Vanya is captured and killed in the war, and her journey of political awakening that follows this. This tragedy is explored through a central conceit, namely that in Alya's society, the sentence that began this paragraph is not permissible, indeed it doesn't even exist. Instead, Aliya is told that her son is "absolutely free". In this way characters speak and emote through antonyms. It is an interesting idea, and at times can be incredibly moving. We are told how Alya ...

5Feb

By Olivia CoxNo Comments

London

Mrs President – Charing Cross Theatre

Mary Todd Lincoln is an enigmatic character in American history, shrouded in an equal parts myth and tragedy. The much-criticised First Lady witnessed the assassination of her husband president Abraham Lincoln as well as losing three of her four children, with her fourth child controversially committing her to an insane asylum. In John Ransom Phillips’s play Mrs President we see a different side to the infamous First Lady (played by Miriam Grace Edwards) as she poses for a series of portraits with esteemed photographer Matthew Brady (Sam Jenkins-Shaw), whose iconic photography of Abraham Lincoln reportedly helped him to secure the presidency. Photo: Pamela Raith As Mary strives to control her image through these photographs, whether that’s as a strong leader, doting mother, or a g...

4Feb

By Riana HowarthNo Comments

London

Second Best – Riverside Studios

Asa Butterfield is immaculate in Barney Norris' one-man tragicomedy. A mixture of playful and self-deprecating, the play, based on David Foenkino's novel, explores the cumulative impact of childhood trauma. Martin (Butterfield), who is at the brink of fatherhood, becomes troubled by past wounds. He recounts his experiences which all ultimately stem from losing the part of a lifetime - Harry Potter. Like a gawky, wry man you'd find in a British sitcom, Butterfield prances across the stage. His body moves erratically, finding expression before his words can catch up. The tone is conversational. Casual. But we see his dry wit progressively morph into a gritted teeth-resentment. The slow build is structured wonderfully. Martin begins half jokingly recounting his story, aware of its r...

Figaro: An Original Musical – London Palladium

4Feb

By Michelle KnightNo Comments

London

Figaro: An Original Musical – London Palladium

Figaro a musical with a stellar cast John Robyns as Figaro, known for his roles as Jean Valjean in Les Misérables, The Phantom, in The Phantom of the Opera. Cayleigh Capaldi as Sienna currently starring as Rose in the Off Broadway musical Titanique and Aime Atkinson as Lucia a British actress and recording artist, her musical accolades in Six the Musical as Katherine Howard and Vivian Ward in Pretty Woman Daniel Brocklebank as Antonio, Ava Brennan played Gia. The two child actors Gianni played by Cian Eagle-Service and Sophia Goodman as Amelia both too have credits to their name, Cian performing as Oliver in the 2024 production. Sophia who made her West End debut in Les Misérables and recently played the title role in Matilda the Musical. It goes without saying that the musicality...