London Archives - Page 5 of 150

The Gardening Club – New Wimbledon Theatre

16Nov

By Savitha VenugopalNo Comments

London

The Gardening Club – New Wimbledon Theatre

It is the 1960s in Georgia, USA. In Savannah, five young women – a journalist, a nurse, a housewife, and two teenaged sisters – form a gardening club. Only, they have no intentions of discussing petunias or pesticides. This in fact will be a cover for drug dealing as they try to get their hands on (and distribute) birth control pills. At the time, these were legally available only to married women: “no pill without a ring”. The Gardening Club is a pop-rock musical written and produced by Carleigh McRitchie and Bella Wright, directed by Tara Noonan. Set in a time when women had precious little by way of body autonomy, this club is a revolutionary idea born out of the need to have some control over their lives. What sounded exciting on paper did not, unfortunately, transfer well on to ...

16Nov

By Ralph JeffreysNo Comments

London

L’Indiscipline – Theatro Technis

L’Indiscipline is a mad show full of creativity and promise and an exemplar of what fringe theatre is all about. The play focuses on the Salpetriere hospital and its celebrity doctor Jean-Martin Charcot. We begin in a lecture, ourselves as the audience, as Charcot and his assistant Gilles demonstrate their various patients, turning their mental disorders into a psuedo-scientific circus show. Their star patient however, a ‘hysteric’ called Louise Gliezes, has disappeared. Gradually, clues are fed to us that this disappearance might not be temporary: a blood stain, a stolen car, a missing gun. From here the control of the two doctors unravels as they try and work out what is going on, all while trying to control their patients and maintain a calm image for us, their lecture audience. A...

16Nov

By Gemma PrinceNo Comments

London

COVEN – Kiln Theatre

Inspired by England’s notorious witch trials of the 17th century, Rebecca Brewer’s Coven tells the story of Jenet Device in 1616 Pendle, Lancashire, who at nine years old accuses her family of witchcraft. Over two decades later, she finds herself imprisoned for the same crime amongst wrongfully accused women, forcing her to confront her painful past, her beliefs, as well as her identity. Directed by Miranda Cromwell, Coven could be likened to SIX and Sylvia in some ways, powerful women historically shunned by society, reclaiming their narratives and rewriting their stories in a deeply rooted patriarchal world. Jasmine Swan’s set is dark and intimidating, grey stone covers the stage with formidable jail bars centre stage, a constant reminder that these condemned women are trapped, whi...

15Nov

By Zain RussellNo Comments

London

After Sunday – Bush Theatre

After Sunday is an intimate and thought-provoking production set within a secure hospital where the characters join a Caribbean cooking group. Through this unique setting, the play allows us to explore how individuals cope with the emotional and psychological challenges of being in such an environment, especially when their stay has no defined end. The production sensitively portrays the complex emotions of those trying to find meaning and comfort through cooking, an activity that not only passes the time but also becomes a form of therapy. It’s a way to manage trauma, foster control, and help both patients and therapists connect in a more relaxed, human way. The cast delivers exceptional performances throughout, but Corey Weekes as Ty truly stands out. His portrayal is powerful and ...

Limp Wrist and the Iron Fist – Brixton House Theatre

14Nov

By Zandra OdetundeNo Comments

London

Limp Wrist and the Iron Fist – Brixton House Theatre

Limp Wrist and the Iron Fist at Brixton House Theatre was nothing short of electric, a play that’s not just important but gloriously entertaining. It’s funny, heartwarming, and unflinchingly true to the lives it represents. Each character feels like a facet of what it might mean to be Black and queer today: tender, defiant, exhausted, and alive all at once. The performances are uniformly strong, but the standout is Omari, played with fierce vulnerability by Tyler Orphé-Baker. His intensity grounds the play, every glance, every silence, feels heavy with truth. There are moments that made me laugh out loud and others that seemed to have the whole room in tears. Yes, there are references to sexual assault and other sensitive topics, so go in knowing that, but they’re handled with honest...

14Nov

By Olivia CoxNo Comments

London

Old Fat F**k Up – Riverside Studios

“What are we going to do about all the men?” It’s a broad question that lacks any tangible answer, and “millennial, middle-aged theatremaker” Olly Hawes isn’t concerned with providing an answer. Instead, his new solo play Old Fat F**k Up occupies space within and around the question, tackling the meaty subjects of masculinity, fatherhood, and inherent violence. As Hawes clarifies at the top of the show, staged in an intimately small traverse that brings us right into the world he’s creating, this is not a stand-up comedy show. Nor is it an autobiographical tale – but he’d happily sell it to Netflix in exchange for a glossy 6-part limited series. Old Fat F**k Up is rather a blend of storytelling and comedy that runs for a well-oiled 70 minutes, and acts as an incredibly sturdy vehicle...

10Nov

By Klervi GavetNo Comments

London

Kodachrome – The Cockpit Theatre

It all starts with a thoroughly intriguing concept. Two performers mix live throughout — two DJs whose lives become romantically intertwined as they share and fight for sonic control. The decks become a site of power, identity, a place to take over, find refuge, or disappear. It’s a strong idea — the music mirroring the shifts in desire and domination, the distortion of a connection that turns toxic. Yet the form never quite finds its rhythm. The techno undercurrent often sits in the background rather than driving the story — a missed opportunity in a show built around pulse and control. Kodachrome captures with painful clarity how easily intensity can be mistaken for intimacy, how validation can slip into addiction, and how modern monsters are made out of the most vulnerable parts ...

Sung Im Her: 1 Degree Celsius – Southbank Centre

8Nov

By Klervi GavetNo Comments

London

Sung Im Her: 1 Degree Celsius – Southbank Centre

An empty stage. Neutral lighting. A square mat. Suddenly, a woman (Sung Im Her, the choreographer and company director) finds her way onto it and begins to move — in silence, cautiously at first, then with growing boldness. Nothing tells you the show has started. No lights dimming, no cue. Like life itself, it just begins — without asking for permission. As she leaves the stage, six performers arrive. They are the constant of the piece, the small society around which everything revolves. Their presence shapes the next fifty minutes: movement as language, relationships as rhythm. There’s something intriguing in watching them evolve, not through character but through tension, proximity, imitation. The soundscape by Husk Husk and Lucy Duncan is kept to a disconcerting minimum — alternat...

Romeo a Juliet – Sam Wanamaker’s Playhouse

8Nov

By Carole GordonNo Comments

London

Romeo a Juliet – Sam Wanamaker’s Playhouse

The tale of Romeo and Juliet, the young lovers Shakespeare ensnared in a tragedy across a familial divide, is a play that has been performed countless times, in many forms, some more successful than others. Never before though it been presented as a bilingual production, the original Shakespearean English interwoven with the acclaimed Welsh translation by J T Jones. It's bold and innovative - in the wrong hands this could be seen just as a gimmick, but director Steffan Donnelly's adaptation is a vehicle to enhance the conflict between the families, the misunderstandings and miscommunications that inevitably lead to tragedy, the reason for the enmity between the Montagues and Capulets long forgotten. The fluidity and flow of the text is retained, the characters' intentions portr...

La Fille mal gardée – The Royal Ballet and Opera House

7Nov

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

London

La Fille mal gardée – The Royal Ballet and Opera House

Based on a 1789 French ballet originally created by Jean Dauberval, Frederick Ashton’s final full-length ballet for The Royal Ballet premiered in 1960, with this the 377th performance by The Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House. Inspired by his love for the Suffolk countryside, the piece is set on a farm and tells the story of the burgeoning love between Lise (Francesca Hayward), the daughter of Widow Simon (James Hay), and Colas (Marcelino Sambé), a local farmer. But Widow Simone has far more ambitious plans for her only daughter and is determined that she marry Alain (Joshua Junker), the half-witted son of a wealthy landowner (Christopher Saunders). The only question is, will love win the day? The ballet displays some of Ashton’s most virtuoso choreography, that stretches the wor...