London Archives - Page 87 of 123

14Jun

By Khushboo ShahNo Comments

London

The False Servant – Orange Tree Theatre

Gender fluid yet stereotypical, Martin Crimp’s translation of Pierre Marivaux’s French play The False Servant is probably the outcome of Commedia del'arte being shredded off its extreme archetypes and placed in a slightly modern context. Often reminiscent of Shakespeare and Moliere’s comedy, filled with subplots, disguise and conceit, wit and irony, courtship and lust, Orange Tree Theatre production presented The False Servant directed by their artistic director Paul Miller. The play opens announcing its period origins with the ensemble walking and bowing to festive and joyful music. We first meet Trivelin (Will Brown), the voluble and opportunistic aristocrat reduced to poverty by circumstance and Frontin (Uzair Bhatti) who introduces Trivelin to his mistress/ master successfully provi...

Bad Clowns: Invasion – New Wimbledon Theatre

11Jun

By Khushboo ShahNo Comments

London

Bad Clowns: Invasion – New Wimbledon Theatre

Promising an hour of absolute tomfoolery, laughter, and hoots, the Bad Clowns Trio presented Bad Clowns: Invasion at the New Wimbledon Theatre as part of their fringe festival. The Bureau for Alien Defence (B.A.D.) is faced with an arduous task which is to locate a mind-controlling alien and diffuse a time bomb that can wipe off the entire planet. Trying all kinds of unique and hilarious gimmicks to complete the task at hand, do Agents Sam and Christian succeed? The small black box theatre space known as the Studio welcomed the audience with two special agents curiously questioning spectators about their favourite planet, occasionally showing off their pistols. This interaction was enough to predict the laughter that was delivered quite efficiently in the due course of the play. The sho...

BenDeLaCreme is… Ready To Be Committed – Leicester Square Theatre

11Jun

By Riana HowarthNo Comments

London

BenDeLaCreme is… Ready To Be Committed – Leicester Square Theatre

BenDeLaCreme oozes charisma in her spectacular solo showcase. The show begins with her preparing for marriage, except she is missing a groom and a wedding dress amongst other “small” details. Coerced by a feisty and entitled wedding cake topper, BenDeLaCreme’s doubts are pushed aside as she plans her special day. She begins to question the notion of marriage and love, inspired by talking inanimate objects which come to life. Full of colour and range, from historical raps to a medieval version of Single Ladies, DeLa shows her talent as a performer, lyricist and creative director. The dramatisation of relatable events, of rejection, excitement and anticipation are almost cathartic to watch, as she allows her full emotional expression. The Grindr experience in which the men are ken dol...

The Girl on the Train – Upstairs at The Gatehouse

10Jun

By Gemma PrinceNo Comments

London

The Girl on the Train – Upstairs at The Gatehouse

Rachel Wagstaff and Duncan Able’s stage adaptation of Paula Hawkins’ hugely successful novel The Girl on the Train has been given a revamp in this new production, following its tour and West End debut in 2019. Directed by Joseph Hodges, the story focuses on Rachel Watson (Katie Ray), a struggling alcoholic that has lost her job and her husband Tom (Tom Gordon) who has moved on with his new partner Anna (Tori Hargreaves) and their baby. Rachel travels on the train to London every day, as it stops, she has a perfect view of the house where she lived with her ex-husband as well as the couple two doors down. As Rachel watches neighbours Megan (Chrystine Symone) and Scott (Scott Hipwell), she enviously imagines what life could be like for this couple she doesn’t know. When Megan suddenly goe...

9Jun

By Alice RoseNo Comments

London

Dreamers – Omnibus Theatre

Papergang theatre are presenting their stories on the Hong Kong Protests in 2019 through an interactive, high-energy piece in which the audience are listening upon different retellings of loss, courage and hope for better future. Still to this day, members of the community live in fear of being caught out, aware that someone may always be listening. It is a form of protest that this group decided to put on this piece and share it with an audience who mostly have moved on from this event, who much like myself had no idea the devastating affects it had on the community. Upon arrival they ask you to participate with the piece using the app Telegram which is incorporated into the piece as it was a vital form of communication during the protests. Once in a group chat, you can decide how acti...

8Jun

By Alice RoseNo Comments

London

No Particular Order – Theatre 503

Directed by Joshua Roche, we are shown a fascinating insight of a near future world in which those in charge although not present in this telling, decide the fate of the community they speak for which result in war, environmental damage and protesting. This take place over a long period of time although told in short episodic chapters with 4 actors (Jules Chan, Pandora Colin, Pía Laborde-Noguez, Daniel York Loh) taking a new role in each scene and tell the stories of those willing to give up everything for the causes they believe in and remind us they are just like us, not ‘heroic or remarkable’ but people fighting for sustainability of community. We are transported through lifetimes watching the after effects of believing in our leaders, the damage of glorifying one person and that allows...

8Jun

By Riana HowarthNo Comments

London

Foundations – New Wimbledon Theatre

As part of a series of Fringe shows, WrongTree Theatre and Ultraviolet Production’s Foundations had its one-night run at the snug New Wimbledon theatre studio. MJ finds herself dissatisfied with her workplace and out of curiosity, wanders around the factory where she discovers another factory within a different world. This coraline-esque show is dazzling in its fluidity and imagination. It is a tale of friendship but also offers insights about humankind, stimulating for both children and adults. The simple but captivating plot was easy to follow, and the writing was accessible and flowed well. The concept is unique whilst also evoking nostalgia as it reminds me of Charlie and Lola which I watched growing up. The cast brought vividly brought their world to life with cleverly co-or...

7Jun

By Stewart Who?No Comments

London

Starcrossed – Wilton’s Music Hall

While in Verona a few years ago, I was lucky enough to eat Polpette di cavallo at Osteria Sottoriva, the oldest eatery on the medieval arcade that runs along the bank of the Adige river. That city in Veneto, Italy is the romantic setting for Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and The Two Gentlemen of Verona. One can ponder the balcony and courtyard said to have inspired our William’s tale of feuding families and adolescent co-dependence. Sadly, it’s an architectural fiction (from the 1930s) and a cynical ploy for travellers’ coins. Despite this deceit, it’s a scene of frenzied selfies and chaotic milling from pushy tourists. Truth and accuracy are far less alluring than the illusion of romance. Did Shakespeare visit Verona? There is no evidence of it, so while Romeo and Juliet rema...

2Jun

By Alice RoseNo Comments

London

Britannicus – Lyric Hammersmith

This intense adaptation by Timberlake Wertenbaker and directed by Arti Banerjee explores a dictator’s rise to power and the intense jealousy that bubbles in those that seemingly have the love of a nation but no genuine love around them. This is the inciting fire for Nero to punish his brother Britannicus by demanding his love Junia for his own, in hopes that it’ll settle that lacking inside him and banish any enemies that threaten his position on the throne. However, with this tragedy you get a real inside of Nero’s vulnerability towards his mother and how her passiveness has affected how he loves other people, a man who is the most powerful leader in the world seeking only the approval of his mother and in not getting it, turns to resentment and devastation onto others. Nero played fan...

The Concrete Jungle Book – The Pleasance Theatre

2Jun

By Khushboo ShahNo Comments

London

The Concrete Jungle Book – The Pleasance Theatre

Twisting the colourful Disney version of The Jungle Book, reproducing the grimness of Rudyard Kipling’s classic, interpolating it with live rap music, grime, reggae and spoken word, the Highrise present a dynamic and reverberating Hip-hop musical The Concrete Jungle Book at the Pleasance. Written and directed by Dominic Garfield, the play explores homelessness, abandonment, and survival in a concrete jungle where “there’s no fair when there’s hunger in the air…” Set on the streets of London, the opening scene invites the audience into a run-down, dark, sketchy neighbourhood with a pulsating score often drowning the words of the actors. Nonetheless, their performance energy and commitment to the ensemble successfully transports the audience into a surreal world created brilliantly by jux...