Friday, December 5

Tag: Billie Collins

The Walrus Has a Right to Adventure – Liverpool Everyman
North West

The Walrus Has a Right to Adventure – Liverpool Everyman

Writer Billie Collins’ interweaving of three tales that from different parts of the world, loosely inspired by true stories seen in the news, promises much but sadly falls and I can’t help but feel that in its current guise it would be better suited for the radio. From Norway’s glittering fjords to Colorado’s stunning peaks to Halewood’s majestic Tesco, three people are getting on with their lives as we meet Oskar (Reginald Edwards), Hazel (Princess Khumalo), and Rio (Tasha Dowd): they’ve never spoken; they’ve never met; yet they share the experience of a wild animal encounter that is to prove transformative to each of them. The idea is a good one and whilst strong performances from the cast – who each feature in ensemble roles within each other’s stories – hold the attention well, t...
Peak Stuff – Traverse Theatre
Scotland

Peak Stuff – Traverse Theatre

Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre’s reputation as the Capital’s go-to venue for cutting edge, experimental and thought-provoking new work can only be enhanced by this belter of a play from award-winning theatre company Thickskin. Touring England for the last month, the Scottish premiere tonight of Peak Stuff, by young writer Billie Collins fairly fizzes along with new ideas and brilliant acting not to mention superb lighting and set and spectacular video design. Stage centre, on a raised LED-edged plate Meg Lewis takes us on an often-overwhelming journey, through the eyes of three characters, Alice, Ben and Charlie. All consumers, and all consumed to varying degrees by the world we live in today. Teenager, Alice wants to poke a stick into the wheel of fast fashion, Ben is hiding from reality...