Lyric Hammersmith Archives - Page 3 of 3

28Nov

By Carole GordonNo Comments

London

Aladdin – Lyric Hammersmith

Panto's resurgence in recent years has brought new attention to a format which often is a child's introduction to live theatre. Vikki Stone's re-imagining of the traditional Aladdin keeps the plot (well, not that there is much plot and what there is makes little sense) and brings in modern elements of beatboxing, references to TikTok, current politics and celebrity gossip. The leads wear tracksuits, the princess is feisty and unwilling to be married off to just anyone or at all but the villain is still evil and the good guys win in the end. The show starts with a song about how they all know they are just pretending because they are in panto. The audience does already know that, obviously, but it's a very on-the-nose statement to start by challenging the high level of suspen...

The Beauty Queen of Leenane – Lyric Hammersmith

The current revival of Martin McDonagh's 1996 play, "The Beauty Queen of Leenane" recently completed a successful run at Chichester and has now transferred to the Lyric Hammersmith. Mag, a mean elderly woman, is being looked after by her daughter, Maureen, an equally mean middle-aged woman who yearns to get away from the stifling and constricted life she leads looking after her demanding and manipulative mother in the isolation of a Connemara cottage. The unexpected return of an old friend, Pato, offers Maureen the chance of escape but Mag is determined to scupper her daughter's chance of a new life, which would leave her alone and without her carer. These are two women who are deeply flawed and unable to tell each other the truth - Mag hiding the fact that she doesn't need to rely e...

Theatres Trust supports 40 more UK theatres become Covid-safe in final round of Reopening Fund Grants

Theatres Trust supports 40 more theatres with final Theatre Reopening Fund grants The national public advisory body for theatre has awarded a further £155,265 of grants to help theatres with costs of Covid-secure reopening, including changes to the building to reduce congestion, improvements to ventilation systems and simple measures like installing hand sanitisers and screens. The theatres supported reflect the vital elements that make up the theatre ecosystem with awards made to significant producing theatres – Hampstead Theatre, Lyric Hammersmith, Pitlochry Festival Theatre, Theatre Royal Bath – major receiving houses Capital Theatres and Worthing Theatres, venues specialising in dance (Northern Ballet), new writing (Traverse, New Diorama, Gate Theatre) and one of the country’s fe...