London Archives - Page 4 of 178

Murder Before Evensong – Watermill Theatre

30Sep

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

Murder Before Evensong – Watermill Theatre

There is something particularly satisfying about watching a production that understands exactly how to use the theatre it inhabits, and ‘Murder Before Evensong, the world-premiere stage adaptation of Reverend Richard Coles’ bestselling novel, feels completely at home at the Watermill Theatre. Intimate in scale but remarkably expansive in execution, this is a beautifully constructed, wonderfully performed production that manages to make this tiny auditorium feel, at times, like a full-scale West End stage. Adapted by Paul Hart and Shaun McKenna, and directed by Hart, the story takes us to the seemingly idyllic village of Champton in 1988, where parish politics, long-standing relationships and simmering tensions surround St Mary’s Church. When murder intrudes upon this comfortably familia...

Dear Joanna, My Favourite Animals Are Scorpions – Bread and Roses Theatre

28Sep

By Gaurav SinghNo Comments

London

Dear Joanna, My Favourite Animals Are Scorpions – Bread and Roses Theatre

Dear Joanna, My Favourite Animals Are Scorpions is an unsettling exploration of childhood friendship, adolescent obsession and the ways in which seemingly innocent behaviour can develop into something much darker. Written by Julia Rudd and directed by Elizabeth Laurence, the play follows Joanna, played by Grace Maltman, and Dave, played by Joseph Mason-Coombs, from childhood into adolescence. Dave becomes fascinated with Joanna and repeatedly tries to establish a friendship that she does not reciprocate. As they grow older, his attempts to gain her attention become increasingly obsessive. Letters, rumours and eventually voyeuristic behaviour shift what initially looks like an innocent childhood infatuation towards stalking and harassment. The writing is the production’s biggest stren...

The First Year (of the Gaza Genocide in the Media) – New Diorama

28Sep

By Klervi GavetNo Comments

London

The First Year (of the Gaza Genocide in the Media) – New Diorama

There is something inherently difficult about making theatre about an event that is still unfolding, particularly one as politically charged and emotionally divisive as Gaza. It requires not only courage, but perspective: enough distance to transform material into theatre rather than simply place it on a stage. For me, this is where The First Year (of the Gaza Genocide in the Media) falls short. The production, developed by BÉZNĂ Theatre with the International State Crime Initiative and Shadow World Investigations, is an ambitious collaboration built from testimony and research. Its credentials are impressive, as is the care with which the material has clearly been assembled. But after 90 minutes, I was left wondering: what is the purpose of this play? The production begins from ...

28Sep

By Prateek SonnyNo Comments

London

Three Men in a Boat – Rose Theatre

Three Men in a Boat, plus a dog, is a spectacular feat of musical comedy directed by Christopher Haydon. Based on a 19th-century novel of the same name, it follows three friends: Jerome (Jonny Weldon), Harris (Bronté Barbé) and George (Richard David-Cane), as Jerome organises a boat trip from Kingston to Oxford as a stag do for Harris. What should have been a picturesque and pleasant trip down the Thames becomes a succession of comic mishaps, misunderstandings and increasingly absurd situations. A splendid contributor to this mayhem is Jerome’s mischievous dog, Montmorency, brought to life through Calum Donald-Bruce’s puppetry. Having the journey begin in Kingston also gives the play a particularly fitting local connection. The play is an absolute visual treat, with a delightful product...

The Last Ship – Theatre Royal Drury Lane

28Sep

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

The Last Ship – Theatre Royal Drury Lane

There is a compelling musical somewhere inside ‘The Last Ship’. Its story of a Wallsend shipbuilding community facing the closure of its yard has all the ingredients for a powerful night of theatre, threatened livelihoods, fierce loyalty and the question of what remains when the work that defines a place disappears. Yet, despite its ambition and considerable scale, this production at Theatre Royal Drury Lane left us admiring what we could see far more than we cared about what happened. Visually, it is remarkable, stunning in fact. Jenny Melville’s immense set makes imaginative use of the theatre’s vast stage, establishing the shipyard as both a workplace and the centre of a community’s identity, dominated by the constant presence of the massive ship, Utopia. Adam Bassett’s lighting give...

28Sep

By Gaurav SinghNo Comments

London

The Urmetazoan – Hampstead Theatre

There is something genuinely refreshing about The Urmetazoan. At a time when theatre can sometimes feel like it needs to announce the scale of its ideas, Alex Rugman's play approaches questions of science, space travel, human survival and the future of the species through something much more intimate: two sisters who have not spoken to each other for seven years. Alice, played by Dorothea Myer-Bennethtt, is a Nobel Prize-winning scientist preparing for a one-way mission to Mars, where she will work towards establishing a human population. Abigail, played by Meghan Treadway, has taken a very different route through life. She is impulsive, carefree and much more interested in living in the present. Alice has spent her life looking towards the future, while Abigail is concerned with the me...

27Sep

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

FLOP! – Wilton’s Music Hall

A musical can close early, lose money and still leave behind a song worth hearing. That is the appealing idea behind FLOP!, Arthur Hull’s cabaret devoted to songs from musicals that failed to find an audience, and at Wilton’s Music Hall, his London debut, he makes a convincing case for giving each of them another chance. Hull is an engaging tour guide through this collection of theatrical misfires. He introduces each show with a clear sense of its story and fate, giving the songs enough context to stand on their own, with narration that is lively without overwhelming the music. His selection of songs feels carefully curated, with each offering a fresh reason to be curious about work that might otherwise have been forgotten. His singing is the evening’s greatest strength. He...

27Sep

By Prateek SonnyNo Comments

London

F*ck You Claire – Etcetera Theatre

F*ck You Claire is an ambitious one-act play written and performed by Rosie Hollingworth. It follows Penelope, a woman in her mid-twenties, as she battles her inner demons. It is a story that many younger people can empathise with, and older audiences can sympathise with. Tackling the pressures of being an adult alongside society’s expectations and judgements, the play effectively captures her struggle to cope under the weight of everyday life. The set design transforms the stage into Penelope’s cluttered, chaotic bedroom. The use of audio effects, music and lighting complements the disorder of her mind. Together with some literal personifications, they convey the hyperactivity, anxiety and pressure that gradually overwhelm her. The script is funny and sharp. The overall producti...

Causa: The Trial of the Illegal Potato – Lower Marsh Arts Club

27Sep

By Charlotte MansfieldNo Comments

London

Causa: The Trial of the Illegal Potato – Lower Marsh Arts Club

A small basement room in Waterloo, with bare brick walls and a simple lighting rig was the venue for Causa: The Trial of the Illegal Potato, one of the many shows in this year's Lambeth Fringe Festival. The first hint that this show wasn't going to be a tightly put-together piece came as the audience waited outside as the start time came and went with no information on what was happening. Starting nearly twenty minutes late wasn't an auspicious opening. Juana, a Peruvian woman living in London, gets homesick for Causa, a traditional potato dish. When she realises that the yellow potatoes she needs to make it aren't available in the UK, she tracks down someone who can get her a seed potato so that she can grow her own, precipitating an ecological disaster. Described as an 'absurdi...

24Sep

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

Present Laughter – Richmond Theatre

There is something wonderfully appropriate about a comedy concerned with theatrical excess being given a production that barely seems willing to sit still. Lindsay Posner’s ‘Present Laughter’ arrives at Richmond Theatre with energy to spare, giving Noël Coward’s comedy a confident contemporary shake-up without losing the delicious absurdity at its heart. At the centre is Tracy-Ann Oberman as Geri Essendine, a celebrated actress whose success has brought her everything except the possibility of being left alone. Her home is less a sanctuary than a human traffic junction, with friends, employees, admirers, lovers and unwanted visitors passing through while Geri attempts to maintain control over a spectacularly crowded life. The production’s most significant departure from Coward’s orig...