London Archives - Page 36 of 94

27Feb

By Gemma PrinceNo Comments

London

In PurSUEt – Vault Festival

At first glance, In PurSUEt - Eleanor Higgins’ one-woman show, is about a superfan and their obsession with Bake Off star Sue Perkins, yet, as the story unfolds, it is far darker and more tragic than you’d imagine. We follow an unnamed woman during a therapy session as she recounts her journey and love for Sue Perkins, from sneaking into backstage areas to drunkenly crashing a charity event for dogs. As her story progresses, it quickly becomes clear that the show goes beyond obsession and is a powerful tragicomedy which delves deep into mental health issues and addiction. Higgins artfully commands the stage as we see the ups and downs of her character, from self-assured and charismatic as she recounts her drunken nights out to lonely and self-destructive as her reliance on alcoh...

26Feb

By Jennifer LaishleyNo Comments

London

The Wedding Speech – Vault Festival

The Wedding Speech is a one-woman show all about a toxic mother-daughter relationship. Rose has been asked to do a speech at her mother’s wedding. But Rose is hiding in the toilets as she would prefer to tell the audience the truth about how her mother mistreats her. This is a story about co-dependency and different ways two people deal with trauma. The show reaches a huge climax when Rose finally gives her speech. Cheryl May Coward-Walker’s play deals with the toxic parental relationship issue in a setting that has a lot of room for comedic moments. There are serious heart-warming messages to take away, as Rose tells the audience her experiences and tries to comfort herself. But the stream of consciousness causes some pacing issues. There are a lot of key moments off-stage. This takes...

The Walworth Farce – Southwark Playhouse Elephant

26Feb

By Paul AckroydNo Comments

London

The Walworth Farce – Southwark Playhouse Elephant

Southwark Playhouse have chosen the Walworth Farce by Enda Walsh as their opening production in their splendid new location at the Elephant. Apart from the location being appropriate it was not a good choice. This is an extraordinary play based on the scenario of a father and two sons exiled from Ireland who barricade themselves in a squalid flat in the Elephant and Castle district who cut themselves off from the outside world almost completely. They spend their time under the direction of the father, Dinny, in ever more extraordinary and surreal ways their recollection or imagined recollection of their final days in Cork. Only one of the sons, Sean, is allowed to leave the flat to obtain basic provisions. One day he returns home with the wrong shopping bag....

Grenfell: System Failure Scenes from the Inquiry – The Playground Theatre

24Feb

By Zoё MeeresNo Comments

London

Grenfell: System Failure Scenes from the Inquiry – The Playground Theatre

I still remember the horror I felt when I saw for myself the remains of the Grenfell Tower as I was driving through west London a couple of weeks after the fire. It was an appalling, brutal sight, and I found it so overwhelming that I immediately burst into tears. So, it was fitting that I – unintentionally – took that same route to the performance of Grenfell – System Failure last night, as the recollection helped set my mindset for the evening ahead. As the title suggests, the premise here is a snapshot into the evidence and conclusions from the first phase of the Grenfell inquiry. Richard Norton-Taylor, together with Nicholas Kent, have selected testimony from a range of people who were either affected by the tragedy or were part of the chain of events that led to it. The stage is s...

Women, Beware the Devil – Almeida Theatre

24Feb

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

Women, Beware the Devil – Almeida Theatre

‘Women, Beware the Devil’ is a brand-new play by Lulu Raczka, and directed by Rupert Goold that manages to both dazzle and confound in equal measures. It takes place in 17th century England during a time of political turmoil and witch hunts and features a cast of strange and unconventional characters. At the start of the play, the devil himself (Nathan Armarkwei-Laryea) acts as the master of ceremonies, welcoming the audience and guiding them into the intricate and somewhat confusing plotline of the De Clare family. Lady Elizabeth De Clare (Lydia Leonard) is hatching a scheme to cling on to the luxurious family home. She has schemed to arrange a marriage of convenience between her brother Edward (Leo Bill) and Katherine (Ioanna Kimbook), the wealthy daughter of a shipbuilder, in the ho...

24Feb

By Gonzalo SentanaNo Comments

London

The Winter’s Tale – Shakespeare’s Globe

Imagine that you go to see a play, and someone tells you everything that is going to happen next, but it is so amazing that it's hard to believe. That's when one knows the experience one is about to go through is unique. Marking the opening of the Globe's Folio 400th celebrations, The Winter's Tale, directed by Sean Holmes, takes us to a trip between the intimate and oppressive setting of Sicilia, staged in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, and the open-air colorful and mostly vivid lands of Bohemia, staged in the Globe Theatre. The original five acts of the play are then organized in three acts, and the audience is led from the first hall to the second and then back inside again. As it is customary in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, the empty stage greets us with the warm light of many can...

22Feb

By Alice RoseNo Comments

London

My Brother’s Keeper – Theatre 503

Mahad Ali’s new play follows two refugee brothers, Aman and Hassan (Tapiwa Mugweni, Tito Williams) finding new life in a UK coastal town. Their new home is the local Bed and Breakfast owned by father and son; Bill Bradley and Aidan (Phillip Wright, Oscar Adams). Undergoing the stress of his father’s failing business, Aidan invites the brothers to stay in one of their rooms, much to his father’s concerns. We follow the rise of Aidan and Aman’s sweet romance; although Aidan struggling with his depression, he is pulled into new territories and told to face them as Aman says ‘we face forwards, not backwards’. Hassan’s main focus is to make as much money as he can, only to send it back to his wife and child. An unexpected friendship brings Hassan and Bill together in the form of running, Bill ...

22Feb

By Zoё MeeresNo Comments

London

Romeo and Julie – National Theatre

While any trip to the theatre is a joy and a privilege for me, occasionally something lifts the bar and the experience becomes “more than”. Those times when a production touches a place inside you and leaves you feeling full and empty at the same time, in line with your emotions being pulled to their extremities by characters that you’ll never meet again but somehow feel you know. Last night’s performance was definitely a “more than” event – truly great writing, brilliantly executed, phenomenal cast. As the title suggested, Romeo and Julie takes its inspiration from the Bard’s classic Romeo and Juliet. While this is well-trodden ground as a storyline, Romeo and Julie genuinely feels fresh and unique. Gary Owen’s Romeo (Callum Scott Howells) is a single dad on the breadline with n...

22Feb

By Anisha AnantpurkarNo Comments

London

Age Is a Feeling – Soho Theatre

‘Here are twelve stories about what’s to come in your adult years’, says Haley McGee at the top of Age Is a Feeling, and for some reason, I instantly trust her. The stage is set with a tall lifeguard chair, with lit candles on a small platform underneath the seat. The chair sits in the centre of a circle marked by 12 pole-like potted flowering plants. Each plant bears a small card with a word written on it in large letters. The audience hears 6 stories, each picked by an audience member, and we are left with just a hint of what might’ve happened in the ones we don’t pick. Haley McGee, barefoot and dressed in a black blouse featuring some lace and jeans soiled by dirt, picks some cards off the plants and walks towards members of the audience seated closest to the stage. She then asks...

21Feb

By Zoё MeeresNo Comments

London

The Beach House – Park Theatre

Arriving at the theatre last night to find an almost full choice of unreserved seats I instantly regretted tucking myself into a corner and wondered if I’d get the most out of the four-sided stage. I needn’t have worried, though; and was heartened to see that Director Bethany Pitts’s biography includes Jules and Juniper, which was my North West End UK pick of 2022. The Beach House was reminiscent of this in terms of the fluidity and the smoothness of movement – fitting for a play set by the sea. The performers make full use of a tight space and are in almost constant motion – physically and maybe emotionally too. This is complemented by the gentle use of lighting which perfectly moves the action through time, from a dawn interrupted by a crying new born to New Year’s Eve fireworks. &nb...