Iris Theatre Archives - North West End UK

8Dec

By Zoё MeeresNo Comments

London

The Last Nativity – The Actor’s Church

“Now’s the perfect time for the nativity. They’re drunk enough that they’ll be forgiving but not so drunk that they’re falling asleep.” Thus, siblings Laura, Blake and Mia begin the performance of the nativity play that Laura scripted when they were just children. Now all grown up, and having grown apart, the three return home for Christmas to discover that the last minute addition of Nana Sue to the family celebrations means their Secret Santa exchange is a gift short. Younger sister Mia (they never say she’s the youngest, but you can always tell, can’t you?), an actor struggling for work, devises the idea of giving Nana Sue the gift of a performance of a much loved nativity play, complete with badly aged songs (Santa Give Me A Kiss For Christmas would definitely have attracted the at...

The Red Side of the Moon – St Paul’s Church

14Jul

By Paul AckroydNo Comments

London

The Red Side of the Moon – St Paul’s Church

The delightful garden of St Paul's Church (The Actors Church) is the location for this new musical written by Zoe Woodruff playing as part of Iris Theatre's summer festival. The story tells of an up-and-coming folk musician Beth (Elinor Peregrin) who, one night, plays in an unremarkable bar in unnamed provincial town where she comes across the barmaid Ellen (Kathryn Tindall) who writes songs but never performs them. Beth persuades Ellen to share some of her song book and then perform with her. This leads to a professional partnership, which in turn, develops into a personal relationship. But this is the early 2000's and gay relationships in the performing arts are frowned on and force a choice between their professional and personal lives. Kathryn Tindall wro...

7Jul

By Gemma PrinceNo Comments

London

Shoes to Fill – Iris Theatre

Part of the Iris Theatre’s Summer Festival at the Actor’s Church, Fair Play Production’s Shoes to Fill is a story of celebration, exploring mixed-race identity and the coming together of two different cultures. Written and performed by Tanya Bridgeman and directed by Alex Miller, the one-woman play mixes elements of spoken word, music, and multi-rolling in a lyrical journey of self-discovery and realisations. Despite the unfortunate weather that plagued the outdoor setting, Bridgeman was able to truly command attention with her high-energy performance as ‘Granddaughter’, a young woman struggling to find herself. Flitting between her Bajan grandmother’s memories of Barbados, her present inner conflict with her growing self-doubt and her Irish grandmother’s advice, Bridgeman’s performanc...

Can You See Into a Black Hole – Iris Theatre

1Jul

By Gaurav SinghNo Comments

London

Can You See Into a Black Hole – Iris Theatre

“Can You See Into A Black Hole” is the first of a three-part series by Tom Ryalls that offers a glimpse into childhood epilepsy and youth hospitalizations told through their own personal story. Through a heart-warming personal account of their adolescent years and a combination of documentary interviews, electronic music and the only surviving film of one of their seizures, we witness the complex consequences and conditions of living with an invisible disease that could strike at any time, without warning. Presented at an outdoor setting under the Iris Theatre’s Summer Festival at the St. Paul’s Church in Covent Garden, the show is directed by Deirdre McLaughlin and performed by Dan Fitzsimons, accompanied by Christian Czornyj’ sound design. The text by Ryalls is the driving force of t...

23Jun

By Carole GordonNo Comments

London

Queen Mab – Iris Theatre

"O, then, I see Queen Mab hath been with you. She is the fairies' midwife, and she comes In shape no bigger than an agate-stone..." (Mercutio, Romeo and Juliet, Act I scene IV) Mab, an ancient fairy, travels the world and, as Mercutio describes, has been bringing dreams and nightmares to mortals for centuries. But she's bored and unhappy, seeing humans as nothing more than "a pestilential scourge upon the Earth" and preferring to dole out nightmares that prey upon their deepest fears rather than bestowing positive dreams on their sleeping forms. There are many lockdown and pandemic-themed dramas around, but likely none as charming as Danielle Pearson's "Queen Mab". The play cleverly links Shakespeare's Mab to the present day through Freya, a teenager who is going through al...

21Dec

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

The Snow Queen – Iris Theatre

One of the post popular festive tales, Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen, is brought into your homes from the Iris Theatre, in their first livestreamed production. We are trying to get to the right destination to begin the story Holly wants to read to Pip. The audience are asked to find magic ingredients, and to help thaw a frozen book. The story of the Snow Queen, left out in the cold by her sisters of the spring, summer and autumn, is well known. Stuck in her ice palace, her heart is frozen solid and closed to friendship or compassion. This is a complex story but has been adapted well for pre-schoolers. Leda Douglas keeps the interest throughout as she infuses the young audience with her joyful enthusiasm. Participation is requested at every turn, from changing the weath...