London Archives - Page 4 of 167

19Jun

By Paul AckroydNo Comments

London

Miraculous – Kings Head Theatre

This is a play about the Christian religion, authority and the interpretation of the Bible. It takes place in a Christian camp in the Oregon Mountains where Josh, a young student has been sent by his parents, and the retreat is overseen by a zealous young pastor, Paul, who has daily mentoring sessions with Josh. In these sessions Josh, at best a lukewarm Christian, tests his pastor's faith with challenges about what he reads in the Bible and Christian interpretations of sex, forgiveness and miracles. This is not a play with deep theological debate. Josh's questions are fairly simplistic; the sort everyone asks from time to time, and Paul's responses are less satisfactory and thoughtful than one would expect from a well-educated cleric placed in a position of authority over young p...

19Jun

By Stewart Who?No Comments

London

Mrs Dalloway – Wilton’s Music Hall

Virginia Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway is a book with a formidable reputation. Its seismic cultural impact is still fascinating to ponder a century later. Occasionally, a work of art will emerge in society that causes a ripple on the lake of consciousness, creating waves for years to come. This novel falls into that rare category. Woolf isn’t the only one credited with heralding modernism, but she wears some very big boots in that department. Adding to Woolf’s power is the fact the Department of Modernism is mostly filled with men. As is life. Woolf not only kicked against the patriarchy, but linked men’s power to the horrors of colonialism, war and poor mental health. Woolf may have pointed out the factually obvious, but it was almost unsayable at the time. The world woke up. Feminism, sexu...

17Jun

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

RON – Riverside Studios

RON is one of those rare productions that refuses to stay in a single genre and is all the better for it. What begins as something familiar, a stand-up comedy act, quickly spirals into an increasingly surreal, dark comedy that constantly keeps its audience guessing. Every time you think you've understood where the story is heading, it gleefully pulls the rug from beneath you and quite literally lifts the curtain on a wildly inventive theatrical experience. The direction (Ted Walliker and Lev Govorovski) is razor sharp, maintaining an impressive pace while allowing every twist to land with maximum impact. There is a real confidence behind the production, balancing absurd comedy with moments of genuine unease without ever feeling forced. It is an ambitious piece that could easily have col...

Eat the Rich (but maybe not me mates x) – Soho Theatre

17Jun

By Saloni SanwalkaNo Comments

London

Eat the Rich (but maybe not me mates x) – Soho Theatre

Jade Franks’ one-woman show, Eat the Rich (but maybe not me mates x), has had a fairytale run. Its sold-out debut at Edinburgh Fringe last year marked Franks out as a breakout talent and the excitement has carried her from London to Melbourne and even Netflix offices. Its return to the Soho Theatre this June is accompanied by a similar buzz which, for the most part, is warranted. The semi-autobiographical show is sharply written and draws the audience into the world of Jade, a Liverpudlian scholar, as she navigates her first year at Cambridge University. It is a caustic commentary on the cultural and class-based divisions which overwhelm her experience, almost to the point of caricature. The posh students are ignorant and nasty, and the professors are technologically challenged crows. ...

A Life in Four Seasons – Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

16Jun

By Saloni SanwalkaNo Comments

London

A Life in Four Seasons – Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

As the last of Vivaldi’s descending runs in L’inverno (“Winter”) hurtles towards a ritardando at cliff’s edge, bringing the show to a close, every single person in Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre is on their feet. The 16-dancer ensemble stands arms-linked and beaming and even the birds chirp their appreciation. It is the most inevitable of standing ovations for a triumphant showcase of dance, music, and theatre. A Life in Four Seasons, set to the eponymous work by Antonio Vivaldi, is a production in four segments, with each part representing a season in one’s life and the forces which determine their course. Spring marks the beginning and introduces us to the Heart, the Head, and the Gut at the point of self-discovery. They move with the awkwardness and buoyancy of youth, all-smiles and ...

13Jun

By Michelle KnightNo Comments

London

War Horse – National Theatre

War Horse is a two hour twenty-minute spectacle of sublime animated visuals and skilful puppetry. A story that gets to the heart of the atrocities and impact of World War 1 on the men, families and the cavalry horses involved in conflict. The play introduces Joey as a foal a horse bred to become a fine racing horse who finds his way to a farm. In the mists of desperation, the family need to earn a living, Joey now needs to become a draft horse ploughing fields and supporting the family. Ted and Rose Narracott task their 16yr old son Albert to care for and train Joey to perform the enviable duties of ploughing, hauling and work as an agricultural horse. As time moved on Albert and Joey form a special bond of shared love, friendship and survival At the time of the outbreak of the first...

11Jun

By Savitha VenugopalNo Comments

London

Allegra – Richmond Theatre

“Given all the misery around… if you spend the day smiling, there must be something wrong with you.” That is the diagnosis for the ever-singing, always happy Allegra. She sings at home, at the baker’s, at the library, in the café, and even to her neighbours at 3 in the morning. In this new play by Peter Quilter, directed and choreographed by Stephen Mear, Maureen Lipman plays the titular role. Allegra lives by herself in a village where everyone is seemingly infuriated with her habit of breaking into song. Her fridge and cupboards might be empty (save some old cocoa and flour tins that hold her father’s ashes), but her mind is bursting with music and colourful imaginations. Her brother Ronen (John Middleton) looks in on her regularly, brings her food, and attempts to reign in her ene...

Teeth ‘N’ Smiles – Duke of York’s Theatre

9Jun

By Nathan DunnNo Comments

London

Teeth ‘N’ Smiles – Duke of York’s Theatre

Teeth ‘N’ Smiles has enjoyed a lengthy run during this 2026 revival at the Duke of York theatre, celebrating 50 years since prolific writer David Hare’s rock and roll musical took to the stage starring Helen Mirren as the work’s darkly charismatic protagonist Maggie Frisby. Similarly, this production brings some star-studded value to the cast with pop artist Rebecca Lucy Taylor (formerly of Slow Club fame), now professional performing as ‘Self Esteem’. How does Hare’s work stand now? This production is pleasantly refined - its large cast are handled with great balance inside a great space, which playfully leans into the immersive qualities of the venue as the late 1960’s rockers burst in and out of the stalls doors that flank the audience with an amusingly entropic quality. Chloe Lamfor...

9Jun

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

Shantify – Underbelly Boulevard Soho

Some theatre productions are clever; others are musically impressive. The truly special ones manage to be both, while embracing an utterly absurd premise with complete confidence. ‘Shantify’ [jazz hands essential] is one of those rare productions. It is utterly joyous, inventive and irresistibly entertaining, and will leave you grinning long after the curtain falls, with its brilliantly reimagined sea shanties still playing on repeat in your head for days afterwards! The premise alone sounds improbable: take chart-topping pop hits, musical theatre favourites and traditional sea shanties, throw them together aboard a nautical adventure, and somehow make it all work. Yet against all odds, it works brilliantly, from Beyoncé to Taylor Swift, from the Spice Girls to Hamilton and Six, familia...

9Jun

By Holly SewellNo Comments

London

Are You Watching – Royal Court

A ten-foot pool of blood spilling across a white-tiled floor is the final image in Georgie Dettmer’s professional playwriting debut at the Royal Court’s Jerwood Theatre Upstairs. In it, two teenage girls are playing: they are reimagining the end of Gisèle Pelicot’s story. In the girls’ fictionalised version of events, Pelicot gets her revenge by shooting and killing her husband. They find their catharsis and go to sleep covered in blood. Are You Watching? follows a number of stories in vignettes, all of which have to do with voyeurism in some form. The stories look at sexual violence in the age of the Internet and AI — sometimes digital in origin, always physical and bodily in effect. A son finds deepfake porn, made using his own childhood pictures, on his father’s iPad; a famous ac...