Jessica Hung Han Yun Archives - North West End UK

28Mar

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

Minority Report – The Rep, Birmingham

Science fiction doesn’t work on stage. There I’ve said it. Someone had to. What was the last great science fiction stage play you saw? No, me neither. It’s a genre born of, and best suited to, cinema. From Metropolis to Dune sci-fi’s visual imagery has played equal part to its plots and philosophy. Sadly, no matter how dexterous and inventive the stage design, it’ll never quite capture a cinematic experience. Though, without doubt, one of the more outstanding elements of this production is Tal Rosner’s ethereal digital design perfectly evoking the virtual world of the near future. The play, based of Phil K.Dick's short story riddled with Cold War paranoia, is about pre crime. The capacity to identify a murderer before they commit a murder and arrest them. Whilst this is explained by the...

The Glow – Royal Court

“You go far back enough, and everything turns to myth” Alistair Mcdowall’s “The Glow” is written with a plethora of colours and flavours, bursting at the seams with ideas about time and the ephemerality of the past. Its central focus is on myth, with a defining character whose presence transcends the stage. Found in an asylum in 1863, a woman is assumed to be a perfect host for an ambitious necromancer but soon things turn awry as the woman’s magical powers come into their own. With an eclectic mix of characters and shifting timelines, it is a joy to watch the complete changes in mood from scene to scene. The plot is anchored by the pivotal character, the woman played by Ria Zmitrowicz, as her character slowly unfurls like she is learning how to exist. Zmitrowicz imbues the character...

She Loves Me – Crucible Theatre

From the moment the ensemble stepped off the trolleybus onto the stage and the doors of Maraczek’s Parfumerie swung open, I was hooked. She Loves Me is a visual feast from start to finish, making the most of every inch of the stunning set designed by Ben Stones. Shop counters fit together like jigsaw pieces, bicycles and beds come and go, and a French-style café appears out of nowhere. Blink for even a second and you’re bound to miss something – maybe even the arrival of autumn or winter! She Loves Me tells a classic story, which has been adapted more than once from the original play by Miklós László; most famously into the 1998 film You’ve Got Mail, starring Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks. It’s a simple plot: two co-workers, Amalia and Georg, who show a strong dislike for one another on the...