London Archives - Page 5 of 156

9Feb

By Alice RoseNo Comments

London

Guidelines – New Diorama

The New Diorama presents ‘Guidelines’ by Pip Williams, directed by James Nash. Conglomerate debuts their first show and did not disappoint. We are met in a forest, overhead voices warn us of what we are in for. Starting as a warm and worried mother but slowly distorting and changing into something sinister. This feeling never quite leaves us, always feeling haunted or watched by something. This show explores growing up with the internet at your fingertips, the false promises of safety and how we never quite consent for what we are fed on our ‘for you page’. The setting is never quite clear however as we jump through time we meet a series of people who are all aware of ‘the video’. This town is grieving the loss of innocence for not only who were directly involved but for all the ...

6Feb

By Ralph JeffreysNo Comments

London

The Gambler – Coronet Theatre

This adaptation of The Gambler by Chiten Theatre is an interesting idea but unfortunately is an exhausting experience for its audience. Dostoevsky’s short novel is all about a cast of characters sucked in by the thrill and appeal of gambling and the pursuit of inheritance. Whether it is the central character Alexei (Takahide Akimoto) betting to win his love Polina or the grandmother winning and losing money at the roulette table, everyone seems to succumb to it. This adaptation pairs an absurdist, physical style with large chunks of Dostoyevsky’s complicated text (translated into Japanese). It’s a bold proposition, but sadly it's one that gets quite lost amid the sheer intensity of the production, which leaves the audience inundated. From the very first, the actors’ energy is through...

The Debate: Baldwin vs Buckley – Wilton’s Music Hall

5Feb

By Klervi GavetNo Comments

London

The Debate: Baldwin vs Buckley – Wilton’s Music Hall

Timing is everything they say. The Debate: Baldwin vs Buckley could have not come at a better time. Watching a play that asks "Is the American Dream at the expense of the American Negro?", just days before the Super Bowl, amid conservative outrage over Puerto Rican Bad Bunny being "not American enough" to perform at this all-American cultural institution, and against the backdrop of renewed ICE arrests, makes the piece feel disturbingly real and urgently demanding. The play restages the famous 1965 Cambridge debate between James Baldwin, literary leader of the civil rights movements, and William F. Buckley Jr., America's most prominent conservative intellectual, who took place shortly after the Mississippi civil rights marches. Striking in its simplicity, the staging offers only chairs ...

5Feb

By Stewart Who?No Comments

London

The Ophiolite – Theatro Technis

Theatro Technis was founded in 1957 by George Eugeniou, a Cypriot actor who came to London to study drama. It has a long and strong history of creatively supporting local working class and immigrant communities. The pioneering Eugeniou died last year, aged 93. The theatre's new Creative Director is Kerry Kyriacos Michael, a second-generation North London Cypriot. He was previously Artistic Director & Chief Executive of Theatre Royal Stratford East. It's a fitting tribute to the founder and a return to the theatre's roots, that Michael would choose to launch the 2026 season by directing a new play by English/Cypriot writer, Philip de Voni. The Ophiolite is Voni's first full length stage play. Set in Cyprus and the UK, it looks at a family torn apart by grief and the consequences of e...

That’ll Be The Day The 40th Anniversary Show – London Palladium

5Feb

By Michelle KnightNo Comments

London

That’ll Be The Day The 40th Anniversary Show – London Palladium

That’ll be The Day is a three-hour bonanza of music and comedy with a reputation of longevity, showcasing the bygone era of 50’s to the 80’s rock pop and comedy skits. Now reaching their 40th Anniversary Trevor Payne takes it on the road for his farewell tour. This rollercoaster ride of hits takes you right back to the early days of Juke Box Jury, voting on the songs of Blue Moon, by The Marcels, My Guy and Walk like a Man from the Jersey Boys. A show supported by video footage projected on to a screen showing the old film reels that supported pop music through the decades; Top of the Pops, and Sunday Night at the London Palladium variety show first aired in 1955. It was nostalgia at its best for a generation who grew up with black and white showreels of their favourite ‘pop idols’. The Be...

4Feb

By Carole GordonNo Comments

London

Boxes – Soho Theatre

The titular boxes of Shona Bukola Babayemi's one-woman play chart the character's life from child to adult, the boxes holding Christmas presents and keepsakes, reminders of a life past and present. Referenced only as "biological guardians", her parents may have initially tried to provide a secure, if poor, family setting but this all disintegrates as she moves from the UK to the US and back to the East End of London. Relationships and friendships come and go; she finds herself homeless and sofa surfing and ends up living in a basic hostel and working a nightshift in a soul-less warehouse. Throughout her difficult life, she somehow stays positive, never giving up and occasionally finding fleeting friendship and help from strangers who show her kindness. All the while, the bits and pie...

Dagmarr’s Dimanche: Songs from the Cinema – Crazy Coqs, London

4Feb

By Charles PipeNo Comments

London

Dagmarr’s Dimanche: Songs from the Cinema – Crazy Coqs, London

I had the pleasure of reviewing Hersh Dagmarr perform in September 2025 and so I was very excited to review this instalment of Dagmarr’s Dimanche. To my delight, this show was even better than the last. Glamorous vampire Hersh Dagmarr, decked out in dazzling sequins, takes a break from the cabaret scene of Weimar Berline to take the audience on a decedent tour of songs from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Accompanied by pianist and arranger Karen Newby, Dagmarr sings a variety of songs from films, some of which I knew and the rest of which I was very pleased to be introduced to. Dagmarr has absolute command of the stage and gorgeous singing voice. He is utterly engaging and captures the emotions behind the lyrics beautifully. Between songs, Dagmarr evangelises about the complex and ...

Passenger: One for the Road – Theatre Royal Haymarket

4Feb

By Zain RussellNo Comments

London

Passenger: One for the Road – Theatre Royal Haymarket

It was an absolute pleasure to see Passenger perform in the intimate setting of the Theatre Royal Haymarket for a one-off performance in a venue that perfectly suited the reflective and emotionally rich nature of his work. Best known for the global hit Let Her Go, Mike Rosenberg otherwise known by his stage name Passenger, has recently turned his songwriting talents to musical theatre, having written the music for The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, currently playing at the same venue. For one night only, Passenger performed a selection of songs from the musical, alongside several pieces that did not make the final production, before closing the evening with a few of his most recognisable hits. The story at the heart of the musical follows Harold Fry, an ordinary man who impulsively ...

3Feb

By Kira DanielsNo Comments

London

Gelin – Canal Cafe Theatre

Güle güle gidin. Gelin is as easy going a comedy as they come. Adapted from Ibrahim Şinasi’s Şair Evlenmesi, Estelle Warner’s contemporary spin on a Turkish classic is as comforting as a cup of çay. Both English and Turkish in its writing and its casting, this play is also hybrid in its historicity. Reimagined from the 1860 original, it takes modern London as its setting and English as its primary language yet remains rooted in Turkish tradition even as it extends tendrils into thorny modern subjects such as giving SHEIN-branded gifts or pairing pickles with Nutella. The Canal Café Theatre is charmingly intimate, but this story is a little too thin to fill out a full flavour profile. As afraid to take up space as its reluctantly centralised heroine Aylin (Gunes Soysal), the play ...

3Feb

By Gemma PrinceNo Comments

London

American Psycho – Almeida Theatre

Premiering last Friday, American Psycho, Artistic Director Rupert Goold’s hotly anticipated revival, has returned to the Almeida Theatre and has already sold out its run. After witnessing this incredible musical in the flesh, it’s easy to see why. Based on the original 1991 novel of the same name by Bret Easton Ellis, which inspired the 2000 cult film starring Christian Bale, the dark satirical comedy follows Patrick Bateman, a young investment banker working in New York City’s Wall Street, who, dissatisfied with his seemingly perfect life of wealth and flawless appearances, descends into a dark double life as a serial killer. Es Devlin’s set design is simple yet effective, a blacked-out stage with a few set pieces brought in and out via a stage lift and by the ensemble, perhaps refl...