Etcetera Theatre Archives - North West End UK

16Aug

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

Scotland

21 Days – Etcetera Theatre

Sushant Nair’s ‘21 Days’ takes a recognisably human crisis and places it against the increasingly blurred boundary between people and artificial intelligence. Set in 2030, although there is little to evidence this from the staging, Jay is struggling following a painful break-up, retreating into isolation, anger, alcohol and self-help books, before the arrival of the enigmatic May begins to disrupt his downward trajectory. Presented at Camden Fringe in a 60-minute abridgement of a longer 90-minute production, the play has an intelligent, contemporary premise. Its strapline, “As AI learns from itself, humanity must relearn itself”, provides a provocative starting point, although perhaps humanity has always been doing precisely that. We reprogramme ourselves whenever relationships end,...

Are you there, Mother? – Etcetera Theatre

14Aug

By Carole GordonNo Comments

London

Are you there, Mother? – Etcetera Theatre

A dying mother, a grieving daughter and a jobbing actor/stand-up/drag artist come together in this dark, witty comedy written and performed by Thomas Carruthers. Lured by the possibility of actually making some money, Vincent agrees to pass Martha's daughter a message after her death. Martha, a strong-willed and persuasive woman, plays on his emotions using the fact of her imminent death, until Vincent reluctantly agrees to do this as an act of kindness to bring the daughter peace at her mother's passing. After Martha dies, Vincent feigns psychic abilities to "channel" Martha and pass on the message. Rather than being a one-off event, Vincent is increasingly drawn into the daughter's manipulations in her desire to keep the supposed connection with her mother. The deception continu...

10Aug

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

London

Getting Ready – Etcetera Theatre

Set in Lucy’s bedroom post-University, Lucy (Naoise White), Cara (Maisie Hogan), and Faye (Luisa Fischelt) are to spend their last evening celebrating the end of university, and the beginning of their new journey’s. Lucy is travelling to Copenhagen, Cara and her boyfriend Ethan are beginning a new life in Sydney, Australia, and Faye is staying at home as her Paris plans did not work out. We soon learn that Lucy and Faye live in the same town and have been friends for many years, and Cara met the two of them at university. As the friends get ready for their night out at the local pub, they explore their friendship, their future, and whether they feel that these changes are for the better. At first impression, Lucy appears to be carefree, but as she opens up, we s...

8Aug

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

London

Sick Dog – Etcetera Theatre

As I kick off my Camden Fringe Festival coverage, I began with a charming play called ‘Sick Dog,’ which incidentally does not have a dog as a cast member! Winne (Cara Crofts) shares her flat with her friend Eliza (Pearl D’Souza), and they hang out and share household duties, and this is your usual flatmates play…until you realise that Eliza is not human, but a humanoid! We learn that Winnie has been existing in her flat for months and has an illness which has made her unable to work. Eliza is stepping in to help where she can, and she is also learning about Winnie’s characteristics and mimicking them in an attempt to learn more about humans to integrate more authentically. Directed by Lily Gilchrist, the play is set in Winnie’s flat and revolves around Winnie’s ill...

Some of It Might Be True – Etcetera Theatre

6Aug

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

Some of It Might Be True – Etcetera Theatre

In The Ugly Truth Productions’ new production, ‘Some of It Might Be True’, writer and performer Justine Martin attempts to place social media, influencer culture, mental health and trauma within an increasingly absurd narrative involving an online scandal, animal-rights activism and a pig-rescue mission. At its core, it is a strange and chaotic comedy with important ideas at its heart, but neither the writing nor the production is sufficiently developed to explore them with clarity. Whilst there is certainly potential in this collision of anxieties, and the comedy is certainly the production’s strongest element, its storytelling is unfocused, jumping between ideas without giving its themes enough space or structure to make a lasting impact. The same lack of control affects the stagi...

5Aug

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

Bathroom – Etcetera Theatre

‘Bathroom’ is a beautiful, deeply affecting piece of theatre, defined by vulnerability and an acute understanding of what happens when love is strained by emotional distance, language and cultural difference. Written and directed by Yijing Zou, this intimate two-hander explores the challenges of living and working abroad as a non-native speaker. Its storytelling is compassionate without becoming sentimental, gently confronting racism, the expectations we place upon our partners and the cumulative toll of navigating a multicultural environment. Inspired by Edvard Munch’s 1896 painting “Separations”, the production asks a painful question: “what remains when love can no longer bridge the space between two people?” Jinyu Dan, playing Siwen Yao, and Bowen Sun, as Shiming Liang, are e...

3Aug

By Holly SewellNo Comments

London

Ophelia — Etcetera Theatre

Ophelia by TheArchive is, in the company’s own words, not an adaptation; not a rewrite; it’s a reckoning. In Samuel George-Thomas’ new script, co-directed with Ava Benkova, the eponymous tragic heroine is given the opportunity to explain what really went down between her and Hamlet during the collapse of their relationship in Shakespeare’s play. TheArchive’s beautiful production steers clear of the cliché and contrived sass which sometimes accompany feminist retellings of famous stories, and instead leans into the poetry of Shakespeare’s language, the sincerity of Ophelia’s character, and the impossible double-bind of existing as a woman in a man’s world. The action of Ophelia takes place broadly over the same time period as Hamlet, often behind the closed doors of Ophelia’s room. I...

9Jul

By Saloni SanwalkaNo Comments

London

Operation Blank – Etcetera Theatre

Just off Camden High Street and up the stairs of the wonderfully cosy (and air-conditioned) Oxford Arms is Etcetera Theatre which, for the next two days, is home to Operation Blank, a 50-minute thought experiment about what happens when hopeless British bureaucracy meets nuclear crisis. The result is a rambunctious disaster which paints a grim albeit accurate picture of the collective “screw it” we all seem to have said in response to the world’s current state of affairs. At its core however Operation Blank is The George Grant Show and therein lies the audience’s true reward. When speaking with Grant (writer and lead performer) after the show, I learned that Operation Blank was born from a 10-page drunken rant after a night out. And— I mean this in the best possible way—it fee...

9Feb

By Charles PipeNo Comments

London

Exhuming Emily – Etcetera Theatre

Monty Bulmer sits at the bottom of Mealt Falls in the Isle of Skye with a compound leg fracture and the tide coming in. Above him, entombed in the frozen waterfall, is the body of Emily. Monty intends to exhume the body. He beseeches God for a miracle. In order to convey to God just how important it is for him to exhume Emily, Monty tells the story of what led him to his current situation. With a heavy focus on his tumultuous relationship with his father, Monty recounts his life story. I don’t want to describe the plot further, so as not to spoil any of the shocking twists and turns. I would suggest that those particularly sensitive to upsetting themes around sexual offences use their discretion when deciding whether or not to see this show. Alex Maslin’s richly complex script...

10Dec

By Charles PipeNo Comments

London

The Last Bantam – Etcetera Theatre

Written and performed by Michael Hughes, The Last Bantam tells the interesting true story of the “Bantam Battalions”: British WWI battalions composed entirely of men between the height of 5’ and 5’3”. If – like I hadn’t – you haven’t heard of the Bantam Battalions, then the story of how such battalions came to be is intriguing. From the various reasons short men would go out of their way to enlist, to the logistical considerations such as outfitting the soldiers in their uniforms, to having to raise the trenches’ firing steps, this play is full of fascinating historical titbits. History buffs will probably enjoy references to battles and events throughout the war and learning how the Bantams played a role in them. The fantastic costume and props add another degree of historical authenti...