London Archives - Page 51 of 115

The Makings of a Murderer – Adelphi Theatre

19Apr

By Samantha CollettNo Comments

London

The Makings of a Murderer – Adelphi Theatre

I’m currently reading a crime fiction book about a serial killer who chops up their victims and keeps souvenirs. Ears, tongues and hands are kept as trophies. It’s a grisly read. But it’s a story, and I know (hope) in the end the good cop will catch the baddie. Listening to David Swindle, the detective who brought serial killer Peter Tobin to justice, I was unnerved to realise just how true, my story book was. The true crime scene has exploded in recent years. The evil amongst us has always been a source of fascination, and with so many podcasts and programmes to choose from, it’s amazing that the Adelphi theatre was packed out to listen to The Scottish Detective. In a whistle-stop tour of the most notorious murders and investigations, Swindle does well to remind us of the victims...

19Apr

By Stewart Who?No Comments

London

Snowflakes – Park Theatre

What is the logical end game of ‘cancel culture’ and digital pile-ons? In many ways, the ongoing culture wars indicate that society has barely moved on from villagers with pitchforks and crowds of cheering peasants at public executions. We might not be buying rocks to stone the condemned, instead, we’re doing it with clicks and retweets. Robert Boulton’s Snowflakes tackles this unsightly quirk of human nature with a dark satire that is gripping, provocative and grimly entertaining. Dissident Theatre’s first production has elements of Sartre’s No Exit coursing through its veins. Three characters are holed up in a room together and the audience are invited to relish their discomforts and work out what brought them together in this way. ‘Hell is other people,’ the infamous quote from Jean-...

16Apr

By Paul AckroydNo Comments

London

Private Lives – Donmar Warehouse

Michael Longhurst's revival of Noel Coward's classic play downplays the lightness and wit of Coward's dialogue and emphasises the violence of the relationship between the two main characters. Elliott and Amanda. The plot is familiar: two honeymooning couples happen to occupy adjoining balconies in their seaside resort, and unfortunately one of the members of each of the couples used to be married to the other. When they discover this and overcome their initial shock and horror, they realise that their underlying love for each other is much stronger than they have for the nonentities whom they have recently married. The first scene takes place on the two balconies and the rest of the play takes place in a Paris apartment, to which Elliott and Amanda have escaped from their new spouses...

15Apr

By Gonzalo SentanaNo Comments

London

Life is A Dream – Barbican

Life without consequences. Life as theatre. The great stage of the world. Life as a dream, and dreams as dreams. Welcome to the undying and unrelentlessly current world of Calderon de la Barca. In the huge stage of the Barbican, the companies Cheek by Jowl, LAZONA and Compañía Nacional de Teatro Clásico join forces to bring this oneiric classic to life, with a staging irreverent and bold, but thoughtfully provoking and challenging. Directed by Declan Donellan, and Design by Nick Ornerod, the stage is very simple yet effective in its metaphor: the audience is received by a wall of doors that will open and close during the performance, to let characters in, but also to hide and show the farce that is about to be shown. The known story of Segismundo, played by Alfredo Noval born ill-fat...

Vardy v Rooney: The Wagatha Christie Trial – Ambassadors Theatre

13Apr

By Jennifer LaishleyNo Comments

London

Vardy v Rooney: The Wagatha Christie Trial – Ambassadors Theatre

Vardy v Rooney: The Wagatha Christie Trial is a fun retelling of the court trial between Rebekah Vardy and Colleen Rooney. The sensationalised story struts into the west end for a second run and brings together 7 days of court transcripts into a show that is surprisingly funny and entertaining. The cast and the creatives do not hold back in ridiculing Rebekah and Colleen, whilst at times this can be funny, there is something almost patronising undertone of undermining two young women. Halema Hussain and Nathan McMullen play two sports pundits who transform the transcripts into a football match. Nathan and Halema are a great double act and use their excellent comic timing to make this show hilarious! I enjoyed the way Halema at Italy transitioned between characters and Nathan's Wayne Roo...

13Apr

By Gonzalo SentanaNo Comments

London

Family Tree – Brixton House

"Black is everything. Black is life." Let yourself be introduced to Henrietta Lacks, the inhabitant of petri dishes who you might already know, without knowing it. In this production of Mojisola Adebayo's Family Tree, directed by Matthew Xia, the audience will find a very sensitive and warm approach to difficult topics that need to be addressed, with deep historic roots, and ramifications up to our times. The play has the magnificent performances of Aminita Francis as Henrietta Lacks; Mofetoluwa Akande as Ain, Anarcha and Oshun; Keziah Joseph as Bibi and Betsey and Aimeé Powell as Lyn and Lucy, and the pertinent and silent participation of Alistair Hall as the Smoking Man. The group delivers for astonishing poetical texts, embodied in a beautiful way. The show starts with a speech fr...

13Apr

By Riana HowarthNo Comments

London

Terrible Thames – Tower Bridge Quay

I was so excited to relive my childhood memories of eagerly watching Horrible Histories and the Birmingham Stage Companies' Terrible Thames was the perfect treat, with a delightful blend of just enough gore, comedy, history and with the added thrill of a live performance. It begins as a begrudging history teacher explains that he is stuck with an energetic, boisterous student who won a prize trip on the tour. The pair playfully and competitively recite historical facts about London’s River and the surrounding area. With a brilliant script written by Terry Deary and Neal Foster, the transitions between topics were seamless. Succinct links connected the present London before diving back into the past. The infectious energy and enthusiasm brought the tales to life and conveyed the poignanc...

12Apr

By Stewart Who?No Comments

London

Wonderland in Alice – Theatre Peckham

My first review for North West End UK came courtesy of The Bone Sparrow at Theatre Peckham, so the venue has a special place in my heart. That particular work made me cry my eyes out in a way that no other piece of art has affected me. Theatre Peckham continues to produce challenging, diverse and unique theatre in a slick space whose events attract young, lively and local support. The future of theatre can be found in such spaces, so it's always a buzz to see them thriving. It's a testament to their varied programming that Wonderland in Alice lands on their SE5 stage and in this new adaption of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland asks a question, who would we be if we were free from the binary constraints of gender? It's an indication of the current political climate that even pro...

The Two Gentlemen of Verona (& Sonnet 104) – Barons Court Theatre

8Apr

By Gonzalo SentanaNo Comments

London

The Two Gentlemen of Verona (& Sonnet 104) – Barons Court Theatre

Relentless, quick-witted, fast-paced, surprising. Shakespeare has not yet said everything he had to say. The approach taken by Evan L. Barker in this new staging of Shakespeare's The Two Gentlemen of Verona is to set the action in a school environment, redefining and giving new meaning to the situations the characters are put through and their decisions in that context. The apparent freedom of the cast in the performance, while being strict with the words and rhythm of the piece (abridged and adapted by the same Barker), gives it a solidity and integrity that further contributes to a contemporary interpretation of the play. The audience is received by a character painting on stage. After a short very intense introduction where the actors rile up the audience and set the tone with juv...

8Apr

By Dave SmithNo Comments

London

The Dry House – Marylebone Theatre

Chrissy (Mairead McKinley) is passed out on the couch. Her house around her is dishevelled, empty beer cans and wine bottles litter the floor. The walls are showing damp and mould, and everything looks to be in need of a good clean. Her sister, Claire (Kathy Kiera Clarke) arrives having agreed to bring four final drinks before Chrissy has agreed to go to an alcohol treatment facility. The Dry House is staged in a small letter box, the surround of the stage blacked out, leaving us focused on the unkempt home and the women before us. The relationship between the two sisters feels very real, we see and feel the long history between them, picking up on snippets of family background and times shared together. Chrissy always liked a drink but after the death of her daughter Heather (Carla Lan...