London Archives - Page 58 of 122

22Apr

By Stewart Who?No Comments

London

Splintered – Soho Theatre

‘How do you deal with coming out joyfully in a homophobic culture?’ This is the awkward question asked by Emily Aboud in her prize-winning show Splintered. In truth, same sex love isn’t overly celebrated anywhere on this melting, agitated planet. It’s geographical lottery that decides the level of homophobia one might experience should you start waving a rainbow flag. In Brunei, Iran, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and in some northern states of Nigeria, coming out might end in state enforced death sentence. Coming out in Cheam may be easier than in Chechnya, but unicorns and glitter aren’t guaranteed. Attitudes to queerness in the Caribbean stem from a very complex tangle of elements. It’s only quite recently that there’s been an understanding that laws criminalising homosexual relati...

22Apr

By Alice RoseNo Comments

London

Dancing at Luhgnasa – National Theatre

Michael casts his memory back to Bellybag, Ireland in 1936 when living in an isolated cottage with his 4 aunts and mother on the summer his uncle returns from Africa. Michael, (Tom Vaughan-Lawlor) now mid 40s narrates what he remembers from that summer as his uncle slowly dying from malaria drifts in and out of a soft psychosis and the 5 sisters struggling to adapt to the introduction of the industrial revolution. The Mundy sisters, all unmarried and combined supporters of their family home are challenged by their individual unfulfilled dreams. Kate, the breadwinner and teacher is under pressure to keep the sisters afloat, but the school threatens her place on the teaching board. Maggie, a beautiful calming presence keeps everyone happy, but a deep depression overwhelms her at times when s...

The Good Person of Szechwan – Lyric Hammersmith

22Apr

By Khushboo ShahNo Comments

London

The Good Person of Szechwan – Lyric Hammersmith

To celebrate the 80th anniversary of the first performance of Bertolt Brecht’s The Good Person of Szechwan, Lyric Hammersmith is an ideal home with its aim of reinventing classics. Boldly translated by Nina Segal, and directed by Anthony Lau, this rendition is surreal, emotionally unsettling, and powerful! True to Brecht’s convention of theatre, but ripped off its extreme didacticism, the creative team should take a bow for cohesively repositioning the production with oomph and wonder. The play begins with Wang, the water seller (Leo Wan) prancing in a swim-suit and flippers, mocking the city-dwellers and their stupidity in paying money for a free resource like water as he waits for the Gods (Nick Blakeley, Callum Coates, Tim Samuels) who appear in pristine white toga outfits whic...

Abigail’s Party – Churchill Theatre, Bromley

20Apr

By Carole GordonNo Comments

London

Abigail’s Party – Churchill Theatre, Bromley

It's the 1970s, the decade of social aspiration, middle class pretensions, horrible wallpaper, Estee Lauder's "Youth Dew", cocktail cabinets, gin and tonic and cigarettes. Beverly is awaiting her guests and anticipating the pleasure of showing off her new kitchen. Newcomers Angela and Tony have been invited for drinks to welcome them to the area and Susan, the next-door neighbour, has been asked to join them while her daughter, the titular but unseen Abigail, is having a party and wants mother out of the way. Alcohol flows, cigarettes are smoked, cheese and pineapple on sticks and crisps are handed around. Beverly lords it over her guests as she forces more and more alcohol and cigarettes on them and browbeats her stressed-out estate agent husband, Laurence. Eventually, t...

Village Idiot – Theatre Royal Stratford East

20Apr

By Riana HowarthNo Comments

London

Village Idiot – Theatre Royal Stratford East

Village Idiot is a sincere, hearty, and refreshing story about two families and the different needs for freedom, independence and community. Riddled with stereotypes and generalisations, we watch the prejudice crumble under the light of community spirit. Presented by Ramps On The Moon, the portrayal of people with disabilities is acute and uncompromising, with strong characters, showing the liberties and infringements that they deal with. We see the characters at cross roads in their lives as a high-speed railway line being built forces them to up and leave. All of this is administered by Peter who has no qualms about evicting his grandma and brother. With lots of different goings on, the grandma, Barbara somehow finds out, peering through binoculars and causes chaos as she spills the s...

20Apr

By Akshay RahejaNo Comments

London

Little Scratch – New Diorama

A Thought-Provoking and Emotionally Charged Exploration of Trauma Little Scratch, adapted from Rebecca Watson's novel by Miriam Battye and directed by Katie Mitchell, is a powerful and unconventional portrayal of a day in the life of a rape victim. The performance is narrated by four voices in her head, played with great coordination and nuance by Eleanor Henderson, Rebekah Murrell, Eve Ponsonby, and Ragevan Vasan. Their narrations are accompanied by foley sounds that enhance the play's visceral effect with occasional moments of poetic rhythm that feel like music to the ear. The sound and score by Melanie Wilson are also remarkable, as they accurately compose the protagonist's life experiences and trigger the audience's memories of daily sounds we usually ignore. Through this rapid i...

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...