REVIEWS Archives - Page 364 of 571

20Mar

By Michelle KnightNo Comments

London

Burnout – Vault Festival

Burnout starts with tackling the impact of flooding in a northern town, the effects of climate change, on the local people, the environment and the activists vying for solutions. The characters Bridgette (Bridge) an activist and Amara a 16yr old girl who pops out to get milk quickly finds she is enthralled and curious about the activist (Bridge). Amara is keen to share her thoughts and feelings of the impact of activism on the cause and herself. The play focuses on the call to action from audience participation which is encouraged and the carefully provoking dialogue. Photo: Tom Johnson Written by Nicole Acquah and directed by Caitlin Evans, this short play is about activism, and the reality of climate justice, the show exposes the burnout of the planet and burnout of the acti...

20Mar

By Khushboo ShahNo Comments

London

Swim – Omnibus Theatre

Swim is a warm, tender, and humbling story, based on true events, written and performed by Liz Richardson. In an hour-long performance, she encapsulates her journey of moving out of London’s anonymity with her family and settling into a village up north amidst nature and within a community where everyone knows everyone’s business. Of course, at the centre of it, is the experience of swimming in natural water bodies, like she did in her childhood, and how it affects this community at different phases in their lives, particularly her best friend whose sisters have lost their children. The metallic backdrop and oval flooring with blurry visuals shifting in tandem with the story, invite the audience to experience this tale which opens casually with Richardson talking about why she wanted to...

Accidental Death of an Anarchist – Lyric Hammersmith

20Mar

By Stewart Who?No Comments

London

Accidental Death of an Anarchist – Lyric Hammersmith

Dario Fo’s Accidental Death of an Anarchist is justifiably championed as a paragon of political theatre. It’s a satirical farce, focussed on police corruption and collusion with right-wing agitators. The play premiered in 1970 and was inspired by the 1969 Piazza Fontana bombing and the very suspicious death of Giuseppe Pinelli, while being interrogated by the police. Why would a 50-year-old Italian comedy still have relevance today? Hmmm. Well, Lord Scarman’s 1981 report into the Met’s handling of the Brixton riots recommended major changes to police training and law enforcement. In ’93, after the murder of Stephen Lawrence, the Macpherson Report found the Met’s investigation was “marred by a combination of professional incompetence, institutional racism and a failure of leadership”. Th...

Titanic The Musical – Churchill Theatre, Bromley

20Mar

By Michelle KnightNo Comments

London

Titanic The Musical – Churchill Theatre, Bromley

This captivating moving production directed by Thom Southerland, story by Peter Stone with lyrics by Maury Yeston starts with the story of inspiration, a yearning for the American dream for the third class immigrants’; an opportunity, for the voyeuristic second class passengers to rub elbows and be socially accepted amongst their first class peers; a rite of passage for the first class to be a part of this historic moment and immerse themselves in the expected decadence and privileges. To the contrast of excitement and gayety from the young galley boys and girls, crew, and engine room men facing a voyage of toil and longing to be home once again. The company’s ensemble of ‘Godspeed Titanic’ was heart rendering and powerful. This set the scene of what was to be a dignified, emotional and...

Further than the Furthest Thing – Young Vic

18Mar

By Akshay RahejaNo Comments

London

Further than the Furthest Thing – Young Vic

Further than the Furthest Thing is a play in two acts by the Scottish playwright Zinnie Harris, set in 1961 on a remote island based loosely on Tristan da Cunha in the first act and in an industry in England in the second act. The play opens with Bill Laverello, played by Cyril Nri, swimming in the volcano's lake, which dominates the island; he leaves the water as tremors rise. The play then moves to Mill Laverello, played by Jenna Russell, where Francis Swain, played by Archie Madekwe, the nephew of Mill and Bill, meets Mill, having left the island for roughly a year. Francis reveals that he has invited Mr Hansen, a factory owner he introduces as his friend, to the island. The play is staged in an arena with seating that looks like marble slabs transporting us to a remote island awa...

The Tragedy of Macbeth – Southwark Playhouse

17Mar

By Anisha AnantpurkarNo Comments

London

The Tragedy of Macbeth – Southwark Playhouse

Covered in mud and dirt, we see all cast members on stage as we enter the theatre. The stage is bare, with percussion instruments set up at the back. The performers are clad in beige tank tops and long skirts that look like sack cloth. Their presence creates an ambience in the room; you can feel it in the air, here a tragedy will take place. As we walk in, the theatre staff gives us a warning that the performance will be quite loud. When the show begins, the sound of the drums reverberates in the space generating an immediate sensory impact. The Tragedy of Macbeth is Flabbergast Theatre’s first narrative production of Flabbergast Theatre. The production is supported by Arts Council England and was researched and developed at the forest base of the Grotowski Institute in Brezinka, Wrocla...

Marjorie Prime – Menier Chocolate Factory

17Mar

By Khushboo ShahNo Comments

London

Marjorie Prime – Menier Chocolate Factory

Portraying several disturbing, existential, and poignant thoughts about humanity massively engulfed by technology, Marjorie Prime is set in a futuristic world that doesn’t seem so far. Written by Jordan Harrison and directed by Dominic Dromgoole, it is an important piece of theatre, more relevant than ever before. The play opens with Marjorie (Anne Reid), 88, born in 1977, suffering from dementia, conversing with an android 30-something version of her husband Walter (Richard Fleeshman). As the story progresses and the characters die, they are replaced with their humanoid versions programmed by those who are alive. At the heart of this play are questions about identity, memory, and life-death paraphernalia- “Living is a distraction from death.” Dramaturgically brilliant, packed with m...

16Mar

By Luke StephensonNo Comments

North West

Bingo Star – Liverpool’s Royal Court

A new show is bestowed on the Royal Court stage in Liverpool called Bingo Star written by Iain Christie and directed by Emma Bird. Bingo can offer a mixed bag of emotions such as excitement, suspense, tension and laughter. This was certainly inhibited the same feelings when watching bingo star. I say this in a literal sense because audience members can have a chance to win £50 per game of bingo (3 in total) if you’re lucky enough to win the game the cast sing a ballad to the winner such as We Are The Champions by Queen. As well as getting the audience members involved with various call outs. For example, if you’re a lucky winner you don’t shout bingo, no you shout EE ah Lad. But as bingo caller Arthur says you don’t win until he says the win is legit and audience members have to shout b...

Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

16Mar

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

Week 3 of a 40-week tour of the UK, the long-running musical Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story, lands at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre. The multi award winning globe-trotting show, first performed in 1989, has clocked up an impressive 10,000+ performances in the UK, putting it firmly in the top 10 of UK musicals and can fairly promote itself as the forerunner of the now very popular Juke Box musical. Typical of this style of musical, the script and acting play very much second fiddle to the music, which to be fair is practically non-stop. The story, what there is of it, by Alan Janes, focuses on the last 18 months, between 1957 and 1959, of Charles Hardin Holley’s, too short 22 years. The script could do with a reboot and the delivery is patchy, but gratefully, the music is never far away....

15Mar

By Marita MatarNo Comments

London

Farm Hall – Jermyn Street Theatre

“Did you try to build a bomb? On some mornings yes, and on others, no” - Heisenberg 6th August 1945, Hiroshima was completely devastated. History witnessed the detonation of an atomic bomb by the United States. Human’s scientific capabilities and moral consciousness failed to comply with ethical quandaries. In a different part of the world, six of Germany’s prominent scientists are detained in England; the Uranverein known as the ‘Uranium Club’. Whereas the Germans were very close at possessing atomic power in a time were the Führer favoured conventional weapons, they are shocked by the news “The Americans have built an atom bomb. They have dropped it on Japan”- HAHN. An outstanding piece that brilliantly showcased the moments and discussions that followed the scourge. Based on decla...