London Archives - Page 44 of 164

A Letter to Lyndon B Johnson or God Whoever Reads It First – Soho Theatre

22Mar

By Ralph JeffreysNo Comments

London

A Letter to Lyndon B Johnson or God Whoever Reads It First – Soho Theatre

A Letter to Lyndon B Johnson is a brilliant piece of physical storytelling, at times funny, thought-provoking, and touching. It follows two boys, Ace (Natasha Roland) and Grasshopper (Xhloe Rice), who are scouts at the time of the Vietnam War. Through child-like inventions we see the world through their eyes, with the lines between playing soldiers at home and being soldiers at war are blurred. Photo: Morgan McDowell The strength of this show comes through its roots in physical theatre and clowning. Xhloe Rice and Natasha Roland, performers and co-creators, use this to evoke the child-like world of their characters. The extent of the ‘set’ is one large, black rubber tyre, but through clowning the two are able to produce so much from this one item: a piece of cover under enemy fire, t...

21Mar

By Maani WayNo Comments

London

Dear England – National Theatre

Dear England, written by James Graham, tells the story of the ‘New’ England football team and centres on the origin story of Gareth Southgate as Manager of the England team between 2016 and 2024. Gareth is determined to bring life and heart back to the squad and we are immersed in his journey, striving for solidarity and a better England. The lighting, sound and projection work of this production is exceptional, as is the set by Es Devlin. As the audience enters, they see a circular stage with a semi-circle above it lit up, representing a football stadium. There is a low hum of the crowd that can be heard which builds anticipation. The semi-circle becomes a space for powerful projection which aids the progression of the show. The revolving stage is used throughout the performance, never...

21Mar

By Zain RussellNo Comments

London

Mixed Sex – Lion & Unicorn Theatre

Mixed Sex, written and starring Samuel Normington, takes audiences on a nostalgic trip back to the 1990s—a time when Eternals dominated the charts and the Spice Girls were just making their debut. This coming-of-age comedy follows a group of 10-year-olds as they begin to explore their identities, interests, and the awkward, often hilarious, moments of growing up. The play captures the era brilliantly, evoking memories of football-obsessed boys, a fixation on “tits,” and girls who idolized Care Bears and danced to Eternals. The humour is sharp, with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments and well-timed gags that keep the energy high throughout the performance. The writing cleverly taps into the awkwardness of childhood friendships and early discoveries about self and attraction, making for...

21Mar

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

Sisyphean Quick Fix – Riverside Studios

Few plays handle the quiet complexities of family duty with as much tenderness as ‘Sisyphean Quick Fix’, Bettina Paris’ semi-autobiographical debut now playing at Riverside Studios. Set between London and Malta, the story follows two sisters, Krista and Pip, forced to confront the worsening alcoholism of their father, a man whose reckless behaviour has long been their shared burden. Paris plays Krista, a struggling actor in London juggling auditions and bar shifts, while Tina Rizzo’s character, Pip remains in Malta, holding down a steady job and a seemingly more conventional life. What unfolds is a careful dissection of how physical distance can breed resentment, as the sisters wrestle with uneven responsibilities, and the question of what anyone truly owes a parent who repeatedly hits ...

21Mar

By Paul AckroydNo Comments

London

Retrograde – Apollo Theatre

Sidney Poitier was one of the greats of Hollywood, whose influence went well beyond the world of film. The tributes to him at the time of his death in 2022, reproduced in the programme, demonstrate this. On transfer from the Kiln Theatre, this play deals with events early in Poitier's life, when he was on the verge of a major breakthrough into the world of film. He came to the attention of McCarthy's Un-American Activities Committee and was put under extreme pressure to sign a document implicating some of his friends as communists and repudiating his sincerely held views on the civil rights movement. This play is thus essentially about the conflict which he personally faced at this crucial juncture in his professional life but also reflects on the malign influence of the political thought-...

What If They Ate The Baby? / A Letter to Lyndon B Johnson or God: Whoever Reads This First – Soho Theatre

20Mar

By Sadie PearsonNo Comments

London

What If They Ate The Baby? / A Letter to Lyndon B Johnson or God: Whoever Reads This First – Soho Theatre

The ceiling is clanging. the spaghetti casserole is green and the two housewife’s mannerisms are disconcertingly in-sync. In this absurdist comedy, beneath a polite veneer, nothing is quite as it seems… Shirley (Natasha Rowland), 1950s housewife, is a picture of idealised domesticity - scrubbing floors in a marigold dress to match the marigold gloves that it is apparent she lives in. But when Dottie (Xhloe Rice) arrives to return a casserole tray, despite synchronised displays of social respectability - a polite remark to their husbands’ health - an exchange of recipes - it is clear something is desperately wrong beneath all this. Exploring female autonomy, McCarthyism and queer relationships, as the pretences unravel, so too does the world the characters inhabit. What hooks you firs...

13Mar

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

The Little Prince – London Coliseum

A dazzling flight of imagination, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s, ‘The Little Prince’ has long enchanted readers with its poetic storytelling and profound themes. In this visually stunning and spellbinding adaptation at the London Coliseum, the tale is reimagined as an immersive blend of dance, aerial acrobatics, haunting audio, and digital projection. The result is a mesmerizing theatrical journey that captures the novella’s heart with elegance and innovation. Following sold-out performances in Paris, Sydney, Dubai, and a season on Broadway, and under the expert direction and choreography of Anne Tournié, the production unfolds in a dreamlike style, relying on movement and imagery rather than traditional dialogue, but accompanied by beautiful storytelling narration. At the centre of this c...

13Mar

By Sadie PearsonNo Comments

London

Weather Girl – Soho Theatre

A fiery tragicomedy and scorching analysis of our climate crisis, Weather Girl at Soho Theatre is a rallying cry for the necessity of protecting our planet. Weather Girl follows Stacey (Julia McDermott), a Californian weather girl who may look like a bleach-blonde-Barbie ‘perfect woman’, but in reality, is anything but. With a Stanley cup full of Prosecco, she is neurotic, impulsive, and a self-confessed alcoholic. See, California is on fire, and this is a fact which Stacey cannot stomach. As the wildfires consume her home, her life begins to be consumed with it. At the heart of this piece the question: how lost are we from nature, and therefore, from our humanity? Watkins delivers a script which boasts a multi-layered exploration climate change to match it’s multi-layered narrative....

12Mar

By Ralph JeffreysNo Comments

London

The Glass Menagerie – The Yard Theatre

When the audience walked into the theatre, an actor was spray painting the wall of the stage, and smoke was being pumped into the air, a fitting start for an exceptional and anarchic evening of theatre. Tennessee Williams' classic play focuses on the Wingfields. Abandoned long ago by their father, the family are waiting on the promise of change, symbolised by the 'gentlemen caller' a figure who might come into the family's life and marry the daughter, Laura (Eva Morgan), giving her 'security', allaying her mother's (Sharon Small) fears, and allowing the son, Tom (Tom Varey), to be free of his obligations to them. What follows is a tender exploration of repressed desire. Photo: Manuel Harlan Jay Miller's direction is teeming with creative energy and takes an anarchic approach to sp...

The Space Between the Sheets – Lion and Unicorn Theatre

12Mar

By Kira DanielsNo Comments

London

The Space Between the Sheets – Lion and Unicorn Theatre

Gripping from its opening moments, this sixty-minute play is a two-hander that invites audiences to saddle on up and hang on for dear life. Detailing the one-night encounter of a Stratford born boy and a Texas bred girl. The Space Between the Sheets gets into all the nit, grit, and gristle of cross-cultural connection without even getting out of bed. Sexy and fun as Estelle’s “American Boy” and heartachingly funny as a Dolly Parton medley, the rare and gentle thing this play explores isn’t as butterfly-like as love but has many of its flighty and fascinating qualities. Writer and star Kelsey Ann Moebius takes on the role of the capricious outsider, a young American actor in London fizzing with loneliness and bristling with indignation at the fractured society that has left her so...