London Archives - Page 45 of 123

Beautiful Thing – Theatre Royal, Stratford East

26Sep

By Stewart Who?No Comments

London

Beautiful Thing – Theatre Royal, Stratford East

In 1994, when Beautiful Thing transferred from the Donmar to the Duke of York’s Theatre, I bought a pair of tickets for my sister, as a gift for her birthday. She took her boyfriend. I met them after, expecting post-show joy. To my extreme distress, undiluted homophobia spilled from both parties. The following day, her partner called me at work, threatened me with violence and spat further abuse down the phone at me. A week later, the pair of them drove me from the family home. I left, sobbing, prompting a period of homelessness and a nervous breakdown. My sister dated that man for several years. To this day, the pain of that episode causes heartbreak and family conflict. Beautiful Thing led to a Very Ugly Thing that in 2023 remains unhealed and grimly toxic. In many ways, Harvey’s bril...

Strangers in Between – Golden Goose Theatre

24Sep

By Jennifer LaishleyNo Comments

London

Strangers in Between – Golden Goose Theatre

Strangers In between is a coming-of-age story set in Australia. The story follows young Shane as he gets settled in Sydney and the play follows his struggles with coming out and self-discovery. The cast bought this play together with well-timed comedy and strong acting. Tommy Murphy's play is described as a period piece in the programme, but it still has the power to resonate with younger audiences. The play has a very clear message and really would work as a piece of theatre to teach younger audiences about sex. Photo: Peter Davies Alex Ansell does a good job of capturing Shane’s youthful naivety. He uses his innocence to create allot of comedy and did a good job with sustaining the Australian accent, even during the more emotional intense scenes. Stephen Connery Brown has exc...

23Sep

By Dave SmithNo Comments

London

The White Factory – Marylebone Theatre

At a time when war rages in Europe, a play written by Dmitry Glukhovsky and directed by Maxim Didenko - both political exiles from Russia about the things that people can be forced to do seems timely. The White Factory tells the story of the Kaufman family living in the Lodz Ghetto in Poland under Nazi occupation from 1938 onwards. The family of five are the heart of the story, husband and wife Yosef and Rivka, grandfather Ezekiel and boys Hermann and Volf. Initially in the wrong place and forced to translate, Yosef is forced to give up all he believes and take increasingly desperate action in efforts to keep his family safe. The horror that it takes to survive such a horror. Adrian Schiller is exceptional as Jewish Elder Chaim Rumkowski, appointed to run the city by the SS, forced t...

21Sep

By Stewart Who?No Comments

London

Operation Epsilon – Southwark Playhouse

Operation Epsilon is concerned with a niche piece of 1945 history that may potentially find a wider audience due to the popularity of recent Oppenheimer movie. Thanks to Cillian Murphy’s turn in Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster biopic, suddenly everyone has an opinion on the ethics of scientific research and the uses of nuclear fission. The play is set after the fall of Nazi Germany, as the Allies carved up the Reich and sought justice and peace for the world at large. Except, it’s never that simple. At best, war creates moral ambiguities, and by its very nature, revels in murder and destruction. Ethics become very bendy once bombs start falling. In the post-war clean up, British and American intelligence services were keen to get the lowdown on the extent of Germany’s nuclear research. ...

20Sep

By Paul AckroydNo Comments

London

Rebecca – Charing Cross Theatre

There seems to be no source material nowadays which cannot be turned into a musical. However, Rebecca, having its London musical premiere at the Charing Cross Theatre illustrates that some material is really not suitable for such a treatment. This show premiered in Vienna in 2006 and ran for 3 years. It had original German lyrics by Michael Kunze, translated for this production by Christopher Hampton, and music by Sylvester Levay. It follows the story of the famous Daphne Du Maurier novel closely. An unnamed young woman is swept off her feet by the enigmatic Maxim de Winter in a Monte Carlo hotel and agrees to become his wife and returns with him to his home at Manderley on the Cornish coast. However, the memories of the first Mrs De Winter, Rebecca, are everywhere in the house, kept ...

Sorry We Didn’t Die at Sea – Park Theatre

20Sep

By Zoё MeeresNo Comments

London

Sorry We Didn’t Die at Sea – Park Theatre

The snug space of Park 90 at Park Theatre is perfect for Emanuele Aldrovandi’s Sorry We Didn’t Die at Sea, translated for a British audience here by Marco Young. Directed by Daniel Emery, who with Young is co-director of Riva Theatre, the intimate setting allows the audience to see every flinch of fear, every brief touch of tenderness and every wince of discomfort in this tense yet darkly comedic piece. The play focuses on three characters attempting to illegally escape the UK for a new life of opportunity across the sea, a thoughtful twist on the current migration situation. The characters, made a foursome by the sinister shipping container owner, never earn names and as their stories gradually unfold through a series of lies, half-truths and stark honesty, each of the ensemble gives a...

20Sep

By Robert BartleyNo Comments

London

The Little Big Things – @sohoplace

As much as we love all of the American musicals that cross the pond to entertain us, there’s a special kind of excitement that comes when a new British creation gets announced. The latest “little” show with “big” aspirations is ‘The Little Big Things’, playing at the @SohoPlace Theatre in London’s West End. Based on the memoir of the same name by artist Henry Fraser, the musical hopes to follow in the footsteps of other British successes like ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’ and ‘Six’, and is already capturing audiences’ hearts with its uplifting true story of triumph over adversity, the importance of family, and the strength of the human spirit. When an accident on holiday changes his life forever, Henry Fraser (played in dual roles pre- and post-accident by Ed Larkin and ...

12Sep

By Jennifer LaishleyNo Comments

London

Sing-easy – Leicester Square

Sing-easy is the bar that musical theatre fans have been waiting for and now on Fridays and Saturdays Sing-easy will host musical theatre lates with a DJ till 3am! Sing-easy is an intimate piano bar within The Piano Works in Leicester Square. Throughout the night the pianist takes song requests, and the waitresses take turns stepping up to sing. The set list is strictly musicals! The nature of this kind of show does mean that the quality of music will depend on the taste of your fellow audience members. Luckily, we were spoilt with a wide range of musicals from different eras. The standard of performance is really high all of the singers are working professionals, and we were really blown away by the singing. A particular highlight was Take Me or Leave from Rent me sung by Eleano...

10Sep

By Alice RoseNo Comments

London

Strategic Love Play – Soho Theatre

Dating in this day and age seems to be getting harder and harder, what with less natural ‘bumping into someone’ and more organised ‘meet ups’ with your fingers crossed that a spark lights and then you can finally relax because you’re back on track. ‘Him’ and ‘Her’ (Archie Backhouse and Letty Thomas) find themselves in a pub with two pints and both completely willing to make it work. But it doesn’t, she makes it difficult admitting that she’s unlovable and all she asks is for him to not lie. He, confused then of course lies and says ‘you’re great’ but I think I’m going to leave. Somehow she convinces him to stay. The next hour takes us through a whole evening of deep, truthful conversation ending with a contract of what ‘this’ is. They agree to be like those old couples holding hands, compl...

8Sep

By Dave SmithNo Comments

London

Birthright – Finborough Theatre

Continuing their re-discovery season, Finborough Theatre presents Birthright by T. C. Murray. Written in 1910 and staged at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin that same year, it was a huge success. Set around the same time in rural Ireland, a farming family comes to conflict over the different ways the two sons are being drawn in their own lives. Shane, the second son, has an innate talent for farm work, often finding solutions to farm challenges more swiftly than his father, Bat. Yet, despite this, the farm and its birthright were never destined to be his. He has arranged to emigrate to America. On this particular evening, we find ourselves at the family table, where a freshly delivered trunk rests, symbolising the second son's future far away – a "spare," borrowing a phrase from recent UK te...