London Archives - Page 84 of 123

A Plague On All Your Houses – Riverside Studios

16Jul

By Paul AckroydNo Comments

London

A Plague On All Your Houses – Riverside Studios

A Plague On All Your Houses, a new play by writer/director Marcia Kelson presently playing at the Riverside Studios, is a hilarious romp depicting plagues through the ages. Scenes, not in chronological order, imagined the impact, on rulers and ordinary people, of the plagues including those of biblical times, pestilence in French wine fields, the Black Death, which caused so many problems for the budding playwright William Shakespeare, up to recent Covid events and a very worrying peek into the not too distant future. It was presented on a largely bare stage against a black backdrop, with a few boxes as props, and a keyboard musician to one side of the stage. All the characters in all the various historical pieces were played four actors who changed their costumes at the side of t...

15Jul

By Gemma PrinceNo Comments

London

Millennials – The Other Palace

A pink pop frenzy is the best way to describe Elliot Clay’s new pop song cycle Millennials, which has transformed the Studio of The Other Palace. Written and composed by Clay and directed by Hannah Benson, the musical tells the highs and lows of life as a millennial right now, from crippling social anxiety to first loves, the show packs in plenty in just over an hour. The show features a small but strong cast which includes Hannah Lowther, Luke Bayer, Hiba Elchikhe, Georgina Onuorah, Luke Latchman and What’s Onstage award winner Rob Madge. Designed by Andrew Exeter, the immersive set wowed the moment you walked through the curtain of pink pool noodles. There was a dizzying blend of sparkles, pink lights, inflatables, rubber ducks and slinkies everywhere. Normal seats were replaced wi...

15Jul

By Aditi DalalNo Comments

London

Anything Goes – Barbican Theatre

Put together three pairs of (almost) lovers and their muddled relationships, against the backdrop of a grand ship with scintillating choreography and music, and you get a spirited production of Anything Goes. There isn’t very much else to the plot, just a classic case of entangled couples, falling in love and attempting to see it through. But the story is not what the audience comes for. It is the escape into this magical world of a magnificent ship where everyone talks in song and dance, makes silly jokes and enthrals the audience with contagious energy! Cole Porter’s classic masterpiece is back with an award-winning cast including Kerry Ellis as Reno Sweeney, Denis Lawson as Moonface Martin, Simon Callow as Elisha Whitney, Bonnie Langford as Evangeline Harcourt, Samuel Edwards as Bill...

15Jul

By Klervi GavetNo Comments

London

Patriots – Almeida Theatre

How do you make a grown Russian man sing? Give him a piano and some vodka. How do you make him cry? Take him away from the Motherland. Patriots has all the hallmarks of a good political drama. Court intrigues, outrageous backdoor deals, international conflict, even memorable, poisonous assassinations… It is after all the new play of Peter Morgan, best known for his historical hits such as Netflix’s The Crown, The Audience, or Frost/Nixon. Here Morgan examines the making of oligarchs in post-soviet Russia and the rise of one Vladimir Putin from deputy mayor of Saint Petersburg to President of the Russian Federation, all through the eyes of mathematician genius turned businessman and kingmaker, Boris Berezovsky. Directed by Almeida Artistic Director Rupert Goold, this production often ...

14Jul

By Zoё MeeresNo Comments

London

Hungry – Soho Theatre

On the face of it, Chris Bush’s new play could simply be viewed as a fresh take on class. In reality, Hungry has more layers than a millefeuille, tackling a diverse range of topics including love, love language, class, culture, ethnicity, sexuality, addiction and, of course, food. The set-up is thus – laidback waitress Bex meets passionate, driven chef Lori. Bex loves chicken nuggets and Pot Noodles, Lori is acutely aware of the difference between a mousse and a marquise. During an hour and ten minutes we move back and forth in time, observing the peaks and troughs in their relationship – two people who find love with someone so unlike them, trying to assimilate and be assimilated into each other's worlds. The time-hopping can be confusing, especially in the earlier scenes as you try to...

14Jul

By Carole GordonNo Comments

London

Shake The City – Jermyn Street Theatre

The 1970 unofficial strike by five thousand clothing factory workers in Leeds has been largely forgotten and tends to be ignored by historians and anyone outside the immediate area. At the time though, it had a massive impact in raising the issue of equal pay for equal work, eventually to be enshrined in law in the Equal Pay Act. Millie Gaston's Shake The City looks at the strike and its origins from the perspective of four of the factory workers, exploring the narrative through the lives of the women. Margaret (Rachael Halliwell) has been promoted from the factory floor to supervise the workers, and at times uncomfortable position as she finds herself straddling the worlds of the workers and the management. Lori (Stephanie Hutchinson) is full of desire to fight for equality, w...

13Jul

By Stewart Who?No Comments

London

A-Typical Rainbow – Turbine Theatre

Research indicates that autistic people have higher rates of LGBT identities and feelings than the wider population. In a 2017 study by the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR), 69.7% of autistic participants reported being non-heterosexual. The fact that the author of this review got the autumn of his gay life before learning this fact might suggest that representation and awareness are issues that need addressing. JJ Green’s new play ‘A-Typical Rainbow’ goes some way to tackling ignorance and telling a story from an autistic and queer perspective. This ground-breaking production is currently staged at the Turbine Theatre, which opened in 2019, as part of the regeneration of Battersea Power Station. It’s a cute, bijou space, bringing character and culture to...

9Jul

By Riana HowarthNo Comments

London

Dracula’s Guest – White Bear Theatre

Brother Wolf presents this creative adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula’s Guest. The title is suitably euphemistic as it is revealed that Mr Renfield is being held against his will as Dracula continually glosses over this with a grandiose/ mocking hospitality. Dracula delves into the past, mapping out the scene to an eventual conclusion in which Renfield is forced to choose between two diabolical options. In the intimate studio space, the stage is minimal with a table, two chairs and a few props. One of which is a rotting pig’s head on a platter, a constant reminder of the grim, uneasy undercurrent. An eerie environment is instantly established as Dracula walks in with an open music box. There is a chilling atmosphere as you envision them surrounded by the gloomy walls and maze of a cas...

Report to an Academy – Old Red Lion Theatre Pub

9Jul

By Klervi GavetNo Comments

London

Report to an Academy – Old Red Lion Theatre Pub

Adapted from Kafka’s short story of the same name, REPORT TO AN ACADEMY stars Robert McNamara as an intelligent ape retelling his forced evolution from primate to human after its capture in West Africa. An evolution that should mean new found humanity for the creature but instead forces it to adapt to mankind’s cruelty and mimic it as to not perish from their abuse. For a swift 60 minutes - though feeling closer to 45 - McNamara monkeys around as he reenacts the steps of its transformation. He often plays for laughs, without ever reaching the true ferocity nor heartbreak of a great primate deprived of its innate freedom. As the monologue progresses, his pantomimesque physicality grows more focused and less performative, offering a few evocative glimpses of great ape behavior - the backf...

7Jul

By Zoё MeeresNo Comments

London

I, Kermit – Lion & Unicorn

Years ago, one of my best friends slept with Mr Blobby. I don’t literally mean that she made the beast with two backs with a pink flump-like man with yellow spots, but rather that she had sex with a man who, at the time, was in possession of the Mr Blobby suit. Possession of the suit dictates that you are, in effect, Mr Blobby in residence, until such a time as the Blobby-Baton is passed on to a successor. I’m unsure of whether my friend’s conquest is still the keeper of the costume or if there's now a new Blobby on the beat, but in any event imagine the suit is currently languishing in a bin liner somewhere, perhaps with one of Mr Blobby’s mad, unseeing goggly eyes staring dolefully out of the bag. The question of character, character ownership and the blurring of the lines between act...