King’s Head Theatre Archives - Page 2 of 3

19Aug

By Stewart Who?No Comments

London

Brawn – King’s Head Theatre

As someone who’s been diagnosed as bulimic, it’s safe to say that negative body image is an issue that has personal resonance. Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a condition characterised by a preoccupation or obsession with perceived flaws in one’s appearance. BDD is usually associated with girls and women, but recent studies have found that nearly as many men as women are unhappy with how they look. A third of young British men say they need to alter their appearance because of the "picture perfect culture" on social media. The Mental Health Foundation and YouGov recently released a Body Image report. The results found that a third of LGBTQ people (33%) have experienced suicidal thoughts because of poor body image. This is more than double the number for heterosexual respondents who fe...

Quentin Crisp: Naked Hope – King’s Head Theatre

13Aug

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

Quentin Crisp: Naked Hope – King’s Head Theatre

“Never keep up with the Joneses. Drag them down to your level. It's cheaper”. ‘Quentin Crisp: Naked Hope’ by Writer/Performer/Producer Mark Farrelly debuted at the Edinburgh Festival in 2014 and has toured constantly ever since, recently reaching its 150th performance. Directed by Linda Marlow, it offers a brief 70-minute snapshot into the extraordinary life of the legendary Quentin Crisp and is currently being performed as a unique double bill with ‘Jarman’. Split into two distinct parts, the play opens in the late 1960s in a grubby Chelsea flat. The audience is introduced to Quentin who suggests that “If at first you don't succeed, failure may be your style”. This is a clear indication of the rules and values that served as an undertone to Quentin’s early life of beatings and rejec...

4Aug

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

Jarman – King’s Head Theatre

A mighty spirit is about to reawaken. Yours! Over 80 intense minutes, Writer/Performer/Producer Mark Farrelly embarks on a journey to map out the life of Queer filmmaker, painter, gay rights activist, writer, and gardener Derek Jarman, from troubled childhood, through career achievements, illness, and death in his highly acclaimed solo play ‘Jarman’, which is being shown as a unique double bill as part of the Camden Fringe Festival. Jarman was an icon in the gay community, a trail blazer politically, socially, and creatively. One of the first public figures to announce his HIV status to the world, he called for us all to “be astonishing” and that is exactly what Farrelly achieves with this highly thought provoking and beautifully written piece of theatre. Farrelly’s writing is incred...

21Apr

By Riana HowarthNo Comments

London

Eating Myself – King’s Head Theatre

Pepa Duarte takes us on a journey into her past struggles with eating, body image and her relationship with her Peruvian heritage. It shows a vivid depiction of disordered eating and the comical absurdity of it all when seen from a distance. The themes of womanhood and culture continuously overlap, as she challenges traditions and reconciles with her roots. Pepa cooks and leaves the soup to stew, and we become immersed in the aroma and her story. The set designed by Laura Arroyo is effectively minimalistic, hinting at a Peruvian kitchen with utensils dangling at the sides and a kitchen top. Michael Harpur’s lighting design highlights dramatic moments and shifts the mood between different scenes. Duarte’s writing is balanced and truthful. The script is written in a way that feels like...

Freud’s Last Session – King’s Head Theatre

24Jan

By Riana HowarthNo Comments

London

Freud’s Last Session – King’s Head Theatre

Freud’s Last Session directed by Peter Darney is an Off-Broadway success combining philosophical thought with comedy. As its foreboding title suggests, the play imagines Sigmund Freud’s final psychoanalysis session. He invites C.S. Lewis to meet him, to help him make sense of something that disturbs him. A debate ensues between the two, as they grapple with an age-old question; the existence of God. The eagerness and receptivity of the characters carries the arguments through with an aliveness, keeping it engaging as well as educational. Séan Browne brings C.S. Lewis’ character to life, endowing him with an earnestness and a stark vocal resemblance to Lewis himself. He enters Freud’s room as a visitor, polite and reserved with a kind of reverence for Freud but as the play progress...

31Oct

By Natalie J RomeoNo Comments

London

Tender Napalm – King’s Head Theatre

No set, no props, no effects except a few subtle lighting changes; just two barefoot actors and a full house. It is shows such as these that remind us, trudging through our day to day reality, of what it is to imagine, and how easy it is, if all the elements are right, to become completely immersed in a scenario totally removed from normality—immersed enough that it makes you squirm. The audience last night was fully immersed in this 10th anniversary in-person production of Tender Napalm, directed by Max Harrison at the King’s Head Theatre, Islington. Trapped on a remote Island—as we are told—a Man and a Woman tell each other stories, passing time, playing much in the way children might. However, there’s an edge to these games. An undercurrent of pain runs through most, of resentm...

19Aug

By Gaurav SinghNo Comments

London

Tell Me Straight – King’s Head Theatre

Tell Me Straight is a new two-hander play written by Paul Bradshaw about a gay man on a path to self-improvement. Staged as part of the Queer Season at the King’s Head Theatre, the show is produced by Gartland Productions and directed by Imogen Hudson-Clayton. With inimitable performances and quick-witted dialogues, the audience witnesses the many layers to dating in the modern age and how our relationships with our sexuality, identity and self-worth are far more intertwined than what we perceive. The lead character, played by Bradshaw, has set himself a solid 30-day plan to bring order back to his life – no booze, no fast food and most importantly, no more random hookups. His friend Dani (voiced by Stephanie Levi-John), whose disembodied presence is manifested through funny voice...

5Aug

By Gaurav SinghNo Comments

London

All That – King’s Head Theatre

All That is a deliciously funny and heart-warming take on how convoluted modern relationships can get when their very foundation is threatened. Written by Shaun Kitchener (Hollyoaks, Positive) and directed by James Callàs Ball, this production at the King’s Head Theatre, staged as part of their popular Queer Season, is a delightful watch. Through the lives of four housemates – two couples with wildly different outlooks on life – we witness a hilarious evening of misunderstandings, confessions and secrets unfurl as they try to salvage the lives they’ve built together. The show additionally explores themes of love, sex, monogamy and the fallacy of the “right” way for LGBTQ+ couples to manifest their relationships in the public eye. At the centre of the drama is a decision made by suburban...

Seeking Arrangement comes to the King’s Head

14Jul

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

NEWS

Seeking Arrangement comes to the King’s Head

Whilst some questioned whether they could survive the pandemic and others wondered what to do during lockdown, Kitty Ball and Alexandra Hannant took control of their own destiny and set up Burning Brick Theatre Company, so it was a delight to catch up with them – and compatriot Phoebe Coop – to discuss their forthcoming production, Seeking Arrangement, written by Hannant, directed by Ball, and starring Coop. By day, Bolton lass Charlie struggles to make a difference as a UN intern, working to prevent the sexual exploitation and abuse of women across the world. By night, she moonlights as Sugar Baby Tamara, trading companionship and intimacy to survive in New York City. Assessing feminist ideas of ownership of the body while yielding it to a paying consumer, Seeking Arrangement follows o...

No Strings Attached – King’s Head Theatre

28May

By Jessica BattisonNo Comments

London

No Strings Attached – King’s Head Theatre

“You asked ‘who are you then?’ I don’t think I know the answer to that.” The debut play by Charles Entsie marks the King’s Head Theatre’s return to live performances after 436 days. Directed by Aileen Gonsalves, the audience are exposed to, and reminded of, the lengths gay men feel they must go to hide in the closet. Sorcha Corcoran’s skeletal car structure against a concrete backdrop, set in an underground car park, brilliantly highlights the claustrophobia felt by the two men. At very different stages in their lives, they are equally lost in trying to find themselves, “tired of just surviving”. The play is riddled with their anxieties, distraught and pain, despite attempts to suppress. Utilising Gonsalves’s own method, of the audience feeling what the actor does in each moment, ...