Bush Theatre Archives - Page 2 of 2

5May

By Alice RoseNo Comments

London

House of Ife – Bush Theatre

House of Ife follows a family repairing from the tragedy of losing a son, as the house reduces from 4 children to 3 the wounds that are desperate to heal remain open from the secrets buried around Ife’s death and the reason for his devastating path. Closing in around them are 4 walls, opened for view with bright saturated colours and a small amount of possessions. Books fill a small shelf although the only book referenced is the Bible, as the children reminisce on growing up with their dad who now lives in Ethiopia with his second wife and second family. We begin at the funeral, decorating the house as three children are set with the task to make it appropriate. Immediately we cut through the tragedy with the lightness and humour of grieving someone they knew would have wanted light and...

23Feb

By Riana HowarthNo Comments

London

Red Pitch – Bush Theatre

This is an electrifying piece of theatre with a strong sense of community at its core. From the moment you enter the performance space, it is buzzing as the boys bounce around the stage, preparing for a match. You are plunged into their territory from the get-go and feel drunk on their energy and enthusiasm. Omz, Joey and Bilal navigate their worlds of South London as 16-year-old boys at an exciting, pivotal point in their lives. The play is a testament to the strength of friendship and the trials and tribulations of youth as well as an exploration of gentrification from the differing perspectives of these young people. This outstanding play-writing debut by Tyrell Williams is a masterclass in comedy and authenticity. Williams truly captures the spirit of banterous teenage boys on the b...

10Dec

By Gaurav SinghNo Comments

London

Fair Play – Bush Theatre

Ella Road's new play 'Fair Play' offers an incisive look into the world of women's athletics and the lives of those who inhabit it. Premiering at the Bush Theatre, the show invites the audience to glimpse into the pressures and anxieties that these athletes deal with, having to contend with never-ending public scrutiny and judgement passed on their bodies, lifestyles and choices, on the track field and outside. Directed by Monique Touko and designed by Naomi Dawson, there is a searing rhythm to the evening that doesn’t let us look away for even a second. The play opens with Ann (Nick King), a young Black girl who has joined a local running club in London. Here, she meets Sophie (Charlotte Beaumont) has been training for a while. Both these young girls are short-distance runners in train...

30Nov

By Gaurav SinghNo Comments

London

Old Bridge – Bush Theatre

British-Bosnian writer Igor Memic's debut play 'Old Bridge' seeks to shine a light on the on the armed conflict that took place in present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. Winner of the 2020 Papatango New Writing Prize, Memic situates the narrative around the Stari Most (also known as Mostar Bridge and Old Bridge), a 16th-century bridge in the city of Mostar that was destroyed during the conflict. The play is an intimately layered exploration of love, religion and identity during war and follows a group of friends whose lives get relentlessly entangled in the fallout. This production at the Bush Theatre is directed by Selma Dimitrijevic and designed by Oli Townsend, with Amela Beha as cultural advisor and George Turvey as dramaturg. The play opens at the site of the 'Ol...

28Oct

By Paul AckroydNo Comments

London

Old Bridge – Bush Theatre

Old Bridge by Igor Mimic is a powerful drama about the effects of civil conflict on the lives of ordinary people. Set in the town of Mostar in the former Yugoslavia, it tells the experience of four young people enjoying life in the way all young adults do when the brutal effects of the civil war which broke up that country changed their lives in ways they could never have imagined or wanted. It is told through the eyes of Emina, now in her later years, who was one of a group of four youngsters who lived through these epic events and is in effect a dramatised narrative with her account of events delivered directly to the audience , while the other four actors dramatised scenes interwoven with her storyline. The set design by Oli Townsend was empty of scenery or...

19Oct

By Pooja SivaramanNo Comments

London

10 Nights – Bush Theatre

A playwright once told me that a good play will tell you exactly what they’re about in the title itself, because in storytelling, simple is good. 10 Nights is about a young man named Yasser and his decision to take part in itikaf for the last ten nights of Ramadan. The story is at once delightfully simple and gracefully complicated. Originally a one-man show written by Shahid Iqbal Khan, the production is directed by Kash Arshad and enacted by three people: Zaqi Ismail as Yasser, Safyan Iqbal as Aftab (Yasser’s friend who we find out early on has died), and Sumayya Si-Tayeb / Chandrika Gopalakrishnan who acts both as Aneela (Aftab’s girlfriend) and the performance interpreter of the show. The show is audio described, is captioned in English and Urdu, and inventively integrates British Sign...

16Jul

By Gaurav SinghNo Comments

London

Lava – Bush Theatre

Lava is more than just a play about race and identity – it is about a never-ending struggle to be acknowledged. Written by Benedict Lombe, the text was originally conceptualized in 2020 as part of the Bush Theatre's Protest Series, a digital artistic response to the murder of George Floyd. A little over a year later and after a historical conviction in the legal trial, a lot has changed for the global Black community but equally, a lot has not – case in point being the England football team’s black players being subjected to racist abuse and trolling just a few days ago in the aftermath of a Euro Cup loss. Lava is not only an urgent call to acknowledge this moment in time for the Black community but a frantic imploration to recognize the world’s complicity in the past and the present. A...

22May

By Gaurav SinghNo Comments

London

Harm – Bush Theatre

Harm is a one-woman show, written by Phoebe Eclair-Powell and produced by the Bush Theatre, which explores the fickle nature of human relationships in the backdrop of social media obsession and the ends to which one would go to attain the #blessed life. Commissioned with the support of the UK Government’s Culture Recovery Fund, the show is a thrilling and sharp-witted commentary on the effects of social media and isolation. It was staged live at the Holloway Theatre which serves as the Bush's main space with all social distancing protocols being followed — reduced seating, separate entry points, mask on policy unless exempt – which was reassuring. At the centre of Harm is an unhappy estate agent, played by Kelly Gough, who finds herself stuck in a dead-end job with little to look forwar...