Park Theatre Archives - Page 4 of 5

<strong>On The Ropes – Park Theatre</strong>

11Jan

By Anisha PucadyilNo Comments

London

On The Ropes – Park Theatre

Justice delayed is justice denied. ‘On the ropes’ is an autobiographical musical of Vernon Vanriel, co-written with Dougie Blaxland. The thought-provoking play recreates the life and hardships faced by Vernon Vanriel in 12 rounds. The play centres on the experience of a charismatic lightweight boxer from his rise to fame to his challenges with poverty, bipolar and coke. Until his painful marooning on the Jamaican Islands due to insensitive and unjust home office rules. It is a testament to the 57,000 people affected by the Windrush Scandal and those ‘whose rights and freedom are denied by arbitrary acts of injustice.’ Amber James and Ashley D Gayle accompanying our protagonist enthusiastically bring the chorus to life. They portray the entire gamut of accents, pathos, kindness and gr...

<strong>Rumpelstiltskin – Park Theatre</strong>

17Dec

By Khushboo ShahNo Comments

London

Rumpelstiltskin – Park Theatre

Offie Award Winner Charles Court Opera presents an action-packed pantomime Rumpelstiltskin this festive season at The Park Theatre written and directed by John Savournin. The classic tale by Brothers Grimm breaks into a unique plot tracing the adventure of a greedy Rumpelstiltskin as he journeys towards reclaiming his identity after having forgotten his name to Dreamcatcher’s vicious ploy. On this journey, this consumeristic little goblin comes across several interesting characters in different places, offshoots of different classics at the mercy of the Dreamcatcher. Some help him, some ditch him. How does he reclaim his identity and what changes in him? The Panto opens with a delightful musical track ‘Once upon a time’ performed by Emily Cairns, Tamoy Phipps and Lucy Whitney dramatisin...

<strong>Wickies: The Vanishing Men of Eilean Mor – Park Theatre</strong>

11Dec

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

London

Wickies: The Vanishing Men of Eilean Mor – Park Theatre

Park Theatre have teamed up once again with the team that gave us ‘When Darkness Falls’ in 2021. This play delves into the mystery of the disappearance of three ‘wickies’ (lighthouse-keepers), who were staffing a lighthouse on one of the remote islands in the Outer Hebrides called Eilean Mor in December 1900. Their task was to keep the light always working to aid ships in the hostile seas and severe weather. Eilean Mor was uninhabited apart from the lighthouse keepers. As the play explains, this is the bleakest place on earth to do your wickie shift, and the weather was particularly bad when the men went missing. Their disappearance was discovered after a particularly bad storm hit Eilean Mor, and the supply vessel managed to reach the island after being de...

22Oct

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

London

A Single Man – Park Theatre

Tonight, I had the pleasure of experiencing a near perfect night at the theatre. People, place, performances - to steal a well-known phrase, everything was coming up Zoë and I could not have been happier about it. Arriving at the brightly lit, inviting Park Theatre I was warmly greeted by the super-accommodating front of house, acquired a delightful glass of rose and found my seat. The stage is surrounded on three sides, and the front row of the audience’s knees are level with the stage. I’ve personally never been a fan of this set up, it’s always felt a bit too intimate somehow and if any of the action gets too close to you it’s a bit like being sat on the floor in a school assembly staring at teacher’s feet. Luckily, I was sucked into the action and after about 15 minutes any discomfo...

26Sep

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

London

SUS – Park Theatre

Writer Barrie Keeffe’s social and political drama examines unemployment, institutional racism in the Police and the use of SUS law (suspect under suspicion) which was incorporated into the 1824 Vagrancy Act. This stop and search section of the act was used extensively, particularly targeting people of colour and it allowed the Police to make the lives of their victims extremely uncomfortable. SUS is set on the eve of the 1979 election victory by Margaret Thatcher and the Conservatives, which ousted James Callaghan’s Labour from office. The two policemen on duty, Karn (Alexander Neal) and Wilby (Fergal Coghlan) both support the conservative cause, largely due to Thatcher’s support of more stringent laws to support the police in their duties. Thatcher’s speech ‘Where there ...

13Mar

By Paul AckroydNo Comments

London

Ghosts of the Titanic – Park Theatre

The play is set in New York six months or so after the Titanic sank, and interest in the tragedy is waning. A young lady, who describes herself as the fiancé of one of the musicians, arrives trying to resolve some of the unexplained questions about the sinking. Why was there confusion about which tunes the band were playing as the ship went down? Why were the lookout's binoculars locked away? Why were the original distress calls ignored? Why did the ship set sail with a fire on board? Her questioning leads to issues surrounding the construction of the vessel, and even more sinister motivations for wanting the ship never to complete her maiden voyage. Playwright Ron Hutchinson has inventively used this most enduring of disaster stories to raise questions about conspiracy theories. These ...

19Nov

By Gemma PrinceNo Comments

London

Little Women The Musical – Park Theatre

Little Women, Louisa May Alcott’s semi-autobiographical tale has been brought to life in this charming musical adaptation. The show first opened on Broadway in 2005, starring Sutton Foster and has been revived by Bronagh Lagan’s adaptation at the Park Theatre in London. The show stays somewhat faithful to the novel, following the lives of the four March sisters, Jo (Lydia White), Meg (Hana Ichijo), Beth (Anastasia Martin) and Amy (Mary Moore) who live in Massachusetts with their mother whilst their father is away as a chaplain during the Civil War. Alcott’s narrative, with all its nuances and details, is quite a difficult story to replicate especially in a musical structure, which emerges in this adaptation. Designed by Nik Corrall, the set was stripped down and simple, yet worked we...

13Nov

By Zoё MeeresNo Comments

London

Abigail’s Party – Park Theatre

What’s the word for when something just works? When you find a bag that perfectly matches your shoes, or you make every green light on your way to work, or you discover the perfect synergy of someone’s least favourite chocolate being your favourite, and vice versa, meaning that you can get rid of the underwhelming soft centres and enjoy all the toffee-filled goodness your heart desires. Whatever that word is, it’s how I felt about last night’s production of Abigail’s Party at the Park Theatre in Finsbury Park. The casting, the performances, the staging, the design – everything just worked, coming together to create a glorious night of theatre. I’d never been to the Park Theatre before but will definitely be back. Last night’s performance took place in the smaller of the spaces there wit...

22Oct

By Gaurav SinghNo Comments

London

Flushed – Park Theatre

For many of us, our closest confidantes have been our siblings. From secrets and admissions, including the ones within shared knowledge and the ones deliberately kept hidden from each other, this relationship is equally unique in its love-hate characteristics. In Catherine Cranfield’s play Flushed, we see this contradiction at play through the story of sisters Marnie and Jen. From boy problems and adulthood woes to annoying habits and profound decisions, they rely on each other for better and for worse. Unfolding as a series of unfiltered conversations shared between cubicle walls of public bathrooms, we meet the older sister Marnie (Elizabeth Hammerton) who tries to play by the rules and is working hard to become a self-functioning adult. Her hopes for a fulfilling romantic relationshi...

22Oct

By Gaurav SinghNo Comments

London

Sold – Park Theatre

Mary Prince lived an extraordinary life. Born into enslavement in Bermuda in 1788, her life was filled with struggle and pain, but she refused to let it define who she was. Her book ‘The History of Mary Prince’ published in 1831 offers a first-hand account of the brutalities of the slavery regime in the British Caribbean colonies of the time, and forms the source material for Kuumba Nia Arts’ show ‘Sold’. Through theatre, song, music, drumming and dance, we witness Mary’s momentous journey, from childhood to her late 40s, which had an electrifying effect on the abolitionist movement. Directed by Euton Daley and written (and performed) by Amantha Edmead, the show intends to offer a chronological retelling of Mary’s life, tracing her experiences as a young woman of colour trying to come t...