London Archives - Page 71 of 94

8Dec

By Carole GordonNo Comments

London

Algorithms – Soho Theatre

Every so often you come across a show that is pure theatrical brilliance. Witty, hilarious, sad, relatable and performed with delicious tragicomic timing, Sadie Clark's "Algorithms" is quite simply one of the best shows of 2021. It's not surprising that the play had a sell-out run at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2019 and went on to win the TV Foundation's 'Stage to Screen' New Voice Award in 2020. Brooke is facing the milestone of her 30th birthday amid the debris of the sudden failure of her relationship, leaving her with nothing but Amira's dying succulents. She wants and desperately needs a new person in her life - hopefully hooking up before her birthday party so she can show her mother she has a date - and uses the services of the online dating company she works for a...

Showstopper! The Improvised Musical – Lyric Theatre

7Dec

By Zoё MeeresNo Comments

London

Showstopper! The Improvised Musical – Lyric Theatre

To say that I went into Showstopper! not knowing what to expect is an understatement. I’m sure most people have gone to the theatre with minimal detail on what they’re about to see, but in the case of Showstopper! even the cast has no idea how the performance is going to unfold. This is because the entire production is completely improvised; from the musical numbers to the storyline and script, the cast and musicians are completely winging it, taking some direction from the audience. Audience participation is fast paced, led last night by Sean McCann who opens by taking suggestions for the location, inspiration and title of the show from the audience, which we voted on in the time-honoured tradition of applause and foot stamping. Establishing that “Ice-Olated” was to be set in a remote...

Red Riding Hood – Theatre Royal, Stratford East

6Dec

By Gaurav SinghNo Comments

London

Red Riding Hood – Theatre Royal, Stratford East

Theatre Royal Stratford East returns with its 6th rendition of ‘Red Riding Hood’ as its winter pantomime in its 130+ years of operation. Reimagining a classical children’s tale for contemporary audiences, young and old, is never an easy task. However, the team led by Robert Shaw Cameron’s direction and Carl Miller’s writing succeeds in doing precisely that – this adaptation brings climate change, self-expression and many more important themes to the fore without letting go of the story’s inherently magical and whimsical charm that’s enthralled audiences around the world. With stellar performances by its cast, complemented by an eclectic musical arrangement by Robert Hyman who returns for his 23rd year at Stratford East, as well as a vibrant design by Jean Chan, this performance simply tak...

4Dec

By Riana HowarthNo Comments

London

Sunset Boulevard – Royal Albert Hall

Sunset Boulevard is a whirlwind of a musical about ambition, dreams, and human fragility. The story focuses on two characters, one who is based in fantasy and one who is based in reality and what happens as their worlds collide. Joe (Ramin Karimloo), a writer in desperate circumstances fortuitously meets Norma (Mazz Murray), a middle-aged actress longing for her glory days. The plot lulls the audience into a false sense of security, as it is easy to buy into the “struggling writer who finds a new muse” and “has-been who reclaims her fame” cliché. Both actors bring a truth and freshness to their roles, handling their characters with delicacy and are thus magnetising. Karimloo is the first to appear on stage, transporting us to Joe’s feeble life as a writer in Los Angeles. He imbues Joe ...

Measure for Measure – Shakespeare’s Globe

4Dec

By Gaurav SinghNo Comments

London

Measure for Measure – Shakespeare’s Globe

Shakespeare's Globe opens its winter season with a lively production of the bard’s more intriguing plays, Measure for Measure. Referred to as one of Shakespeare’s ‘problem plays’ for its ambiguous tone, the play may easily be described as a farce, a comedy or even a drama. It touches upon a vast multitude of themes, from the role of government in controlling individual liberty to the damning negotiation between morality and societal status. Director Blance McIntyre seeks to bring out and contextualise these threads to modern society by setting the play in mid-1970s Britain, where the state finds itself (and its powers) increasingly at odds with what the citizens desire. With a tight-knit performance by the experienced ensemble, a cross-casting of different characters and an intimate envir...

3Dec

By Paul AckroydNo Comments

London

A Christmas Carol – Alexandra Palace

For many Christmas would not be Christmas without Dicken’s famous ghost tale which in many ways started and embodies the Victorian tradition of Christmas, which is still with us today. The Nottingham Playhouse production presently playing at Alexandra Palace is a new adaptation by Mark Gatiss, who also stars as Jacob Marley. The play script follows the traditional story closely with all the normal ingredients that one would expect, but Gatiss emphasises the spookiness of the original story which in the dilapidated auditorium of the old, but only recently re-opened Alexandra Palace Theatre, works well and is enhanced by numerous very effective supernatural effects created by the illusion designer John Bulleid. The traditional setting, however, is not maintained by the Paul Wills’ set...

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – The Troubadour Theatre

3Dec

By Pooja SivaramanNo Comments

London

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – The Troubadour Theatre

I was twelve years old when I first entered Christopher Boone’s world in the pages of Mark Haddon’s widely celebrated novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. Fifteen years later and a decade after the play first premiered, I sat in the audience of the Troubadour Theatre in a pool of nostalgia as passages from the story vividly made their way back from my memory. Christopher’s detective journey across the United Kingdom was my first introduction to neurodiversity as a young adult. Traveling through his narrative altered my very singular understanding of touch, sound, and emotion in a way that fifteen years later, staged within the deft craft of Simon Steven’s playwriting, held even more value. This play has been taken all around the world. It has excellent reviews and ...

1Dec

By Gemma PrinceNo Comments

London

The Drifters Girl – Garrick Theatre

Jonathan’s Church’s brand-new musical The Drifters Girl focuses on Faye Treadwell, the female manager of The Drifters, one of the biggest R&B groups of all time. Through some of their greatest hits, the jukebox musical follows Treadwell’s journey from a Southern-born teacher to the world’s first African American female music manager as she recounts her story to her daughter. Singing sensation and Queen of British Soul Beverley Knight, stars as Faye Treadwell alongside four extremely talented singers – Adam J Bernard (Dreamgirls), Tarinn Callender (Hamilton), Matt Henry (Kinky Boots) and Tosh Wanogho-Maud (Showboat). Packing in plenty of high-energy and fun, the cast performed classics such as ‘Kissin’ in the Back Row of the Movies’, ‘Rat Race’ and ‘You're More than a Number In m...

30Nov

By Gaurav SinghNo Comments

London

Old Bridge – Bush Theatre

British-Bosnian writer Igor Memic's debut play 'Old Bridge' seeks to shine a light on the on the armed conflict that took place in present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. Winner of the 2020 Papatango New Writing Prize, Memic situates the narrative around the Stari Most (also known as Mostar Bridge and Old Bridge), a 16th-century bridge in the city of Mostar that was destroyed during the conflict. The play is an intimately layered exploration of love, religion and identity during war and follows a group of friends whose lives get relentlessly entangled in the fallout. This production at the Bush Theatre is directed by Selma Dimitrijevic and designed by Oli Townsend, with Amela Beha as cultural advisor and George Turvey as dramaturg. The play opens at the site of the 'O...

Jazz Meets Flamenco – Sadler’s Wells Theatre

30Nov

By Gaurav SinghNo Comments

London

Jazz Meets Flamenco – Sadler’s Wells Theatre

Professional dancer and singer Karen Ruimy took to the Lilian Baylis Studio at Sadler’s Wells Theatre to bring together two of her passions – Flamenco and jazz music. In this show, she brings together exciting, foot-tapping numbers from her album ‘Black Coffee’ with a live musical ensemble, including Flamenco dancers and musicians, from Spain and the United Kingdom. Released earlier this year, her EP 'Black Coffee' features a selection of covers in English, French and Spanish, blending Jazz ballads with a distinctive Latin flavour. Collaborating with the late producer Phil Ramone, Ruimy accesses musical influences from different cultures and fuses them together in what proved to be a thoroughly enchanting production. The show opens with first three songs of the evening, namely 'Black C...