London Archives - Page 9 of 149

3Oct

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

London

Tosca – Royal Ballet and Opera

Director Oliver Mears triumphs with this modern-day interpretation of Puccini’s full-blooded three-act drama of politics and power with its many allusions to global current affairs to the fore. In a war-torn Rome, Floria Tosca (Anna Netreba) and Mario Cavaradossi (Freddie De Tommaso) live for each other and for their art. But when Cavaradossi helps an escaped prisoner, Cesare Angelotti (Ossian Huskinson), the lovers make a deadly enemy in the form of Baron Scarpia (Gerald Finley), Chief of Police. At the mercy of Scarpia’s twisted desires, Tosca is forced into making a horrific bargain: sleeping with the man she hates to save the man she loves. Can she find a way out? Mears’ focus is very much on the darker elements at the heart of the piece, in particular the contrast in class b...

3Oct

By Holly SewellNo Comments

London

Bacchae – National Theatre

Nima Taleghani’s Bacchae is an explicitly pro-women reading of the Euripedes’ tragedy, if one that feels slightly dated (and not because of the Ancient Greek setting). It flips the focus of the play to its Greek chorus: the women of the Bacchae narrate, while the traditionally leading Dionysos, Agave and Pentheus become funnier, more ridiculous and more pitiable characters. The chorus of Bacchae is led by Vida, brought to gritty and sparkling life by Clare Perkins. Dionysos’ foster mother, she guides them through the mountains to arrive at Thebes, where they plan to liberate every woman from patriarchy, join their cult, and drink, suck and fuck to her heart’s desire. Indhu Rubasingham’s production and Taleghani’s script are both undeniably fun. The atmosphere in the Olivier is joyful...

Make England Great Again – Upstairs at the Gatehouse

2Oct

By Paul AckroydNo Comments

London

Make England Great Again – Upstairs at the Gatehouse

Francis Beckett's new play takes the very topical theme of a right-wing political party having assumed power in the United Kingdom and speculates on its possible consequences. There is certainly plenty in our present political discourse to provide the raw material for such a narrative. The play starts with a dialogue between King Charles III and Max Moore, the Prime Minister of Briton's First, a recently elected right-wing minority government. Max is seeking a dissolution of Parliament even though he has only been Prime Minister for six days. We also meet the leader of the opposition, Pam Jones, denied the premiership because of alleged fraudulent electoral activities in a key number of the constituencies that she won. The fourth member of the cast is Max Moore's political adviser and p...

2Oct

By Charles PipeNo Comments

London

FIASCO – Vaulty Towers

FIASCO by Cryptids Improvisational Theatre is a longform improv show based on the tabletop roleplaying game of the same name. In the tabletop roleplaying game, players roll dice and consult tables to come up with a collection of storytelling prompts, linking characters together through “relationships”, “needs”, “locations”, and “objects”. This provides the framework upon which the players collaboratively tell a story, usually of normal people finding themselves drawn into increasingly violent situations the likes of which you might find in a Coen Brothers movie. Cryptids Improvisational Theatre have adapted and streamlined the general structure to suit a live improvised performance. The audience first votes – by cheering and general verbal consensus – on which of three general genre...

1Oct

By Savitha VenugopalNo Comments

London

Foreign Girl – Bread & Roses Theatre

Ana is the foreign girl, a Belarusian living in the UK, attempting to get herself the Global Talent visa in the field of theatre. On realising that mere song and dance isn’t going to be enough, she calls her agent for help in deciding on what kind of professional theatre piece could make her eligible. They go through options – Marina Abramovic (too abstract), Chekhov (but he’s been cancelled), Shakespeare (Lady Macbeth with a Belarusian twist could work) – until they hit the right one. An autobiography. Written and performed by Anastasiya Ador and directed by Rachel D’Souza, this hour-long performance takes us through Ana’s life as she tries to set down roots in the West. Her attempts to assimilate are experiences that would resonate with many an immigrant, from mispronounced names ...

Sam Dodgshon Tries to Hold Your Attention for One Hour – Club Silly

1Oct

By Olivia CoxNo Comments

London

Sam Dodgshon Tries to Hold Your Attention for One Hour – Club Silly

Being a standup comedian already requires a certain level of bravery. In his latest comedy special at Lambeth Fringe, Sam Dodgshon takes this vulnerability to new extremes by giving the audience control over what happens in the show. The concept is simple but smart. We’re presented with a PowerPoint that resembles a flowchart, with slides prompting the audience to choose between various options that influence the direction of the show. These options range from the straightforward (“Can I speak?”) to the absurd (should he go to hell via purgatory), and each pathway ends the same: we’re asked if we’d like to “play again”. With the assistance of an on-stage technician who operates the laptop and encourages the audience to shout out our answers, Dodgshon throws his all into the piece...

30Sep

By Charles PipeNo Comments

London

Girls on Fire– The Golden Goose Theatre

Girls on Fire tells the fascinating, terrifying, and inspiring true story of three extremely brave young women. Hannie Schaft, Freddie Oversteegen, and Truus Oversteegen were Dutch resistance fighters during WW2, who put their lives at risk as spies and assassins, killing Nazis and Nazi sympathisers. The cast of three each give solid performances. Emma Graveling plays Truus with a serious, fretful demeanour that occasionally gives way to touching warmth and humour. Ellie Grace’s Hannie is both playful and intelligent, with plenty of optimism and resolve. Lily Sitzia’s Freddie transforms from a naïve child to a cold, pragmatic killer. Each performance is distinct, and the interplay between the three actors is engaging. The script does a good job of selling the friendship between t...

30Sep

By Charles PipeNo Comments

London

choke me – Hen & Chickens

choke me – written and performed by Alexandra Montalbano – is a new one-woman reinterpretation of Punishment without Revenge by Lope de Vega. The plot follows Cas as she navigates the bizarre love triangle that she finds herself in. Trapped in a loveless marriage with her older, boring, cheating husband, she starts having an affair of her own with her husband’s son – her stepson. The plot jumps around, as Cas – in relaying the story to the audience – forgets things and has to go back and explain past events in order to bring the audience up to speed. As such, there are plenty of twists and turns to keep the audience engaged, although moment to moment it can sometimes be hard to work out where a scene is leading and what it’s purpose in the plot is. The play leans more towards comedy...

A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Golden Goose Theatre

29Sep

By Dave SmithNo Comments

London

A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Golden Goose Theatre

For the Lambeth Fringe, The New Rep Theatre tears through Richard Pepper’s adaptation of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream in just 90 minutes. Focusing on the four lovers as they get twisted up by the fairies in the forest, while also bringing in the mechanicals, the actors in a play within a play - rehearsing in the forest and caught up in the fairies playing around. There’s a lot of fourth wall breaking, asides to the audience and some very modern moments, New Rep have certainly gone all out for the comedy to - mostly - success but a few moments land awkwardly and feel tacked on, pulling us out of the world rather than deeper into it. A sharper edit or simply more restraint would have helped here. Jack Gogarty’s Bottom works well but has a naive earnestness despite his se...

29Sep

By Michelle KnightNo Comments

London

Punch – Apollo Theatre

“Inspired by the true story Punch” this production at the Apollo Theatre features a small but impressive cast of six and production team credited for bringing this life story to the West End stage. The staging is set to resemble a dark place for a conclave, on the steps, the bridge and on stage which enabled an astonishing style of creative movement, as the actors moved freely and smoothly from character to character, to scene change in synchronised motion. Credit to Leanne Pinder the movement was so emotionally moving aligning with the tragedy and empathy, which I’m sure was felt very strongly by the audience, just WOW. Scenes with strobe and flashing lights, the play has references to violence, death, alcohol and substance misuse. What strikes you in the opening scenes of th...