Riverside Studios Archives - Page 2 of 3

24Mar

By Gonzalo SentanaNo Comments

London

Killing the Cat – Riverside Studios

Can music and speech give fundamental answers to the questions that seem impossible to answer? Can we address the whys and what for of our existence through sound and bodies? Killing the Cat, the new musical with book and lyrics by Warner Brown and music by Joshua Schmidt, undertakes a very ambitious task, both dealing with very complex and interesting topics, while trying to develop a new and unique language in musical theatre. While the play does not reach those goals, it is undoubtedly a refined clockwork, performed with exquisite harmony. When going into the hall, the audience is met by a beautiful white set, designed by Lee Newby, where lights and colours designed by Jamie Platt will combine during the play, joining the music to display the different stages through which the ch...

How To Break Out of a Detention Centre – Riverside Studios

2Mar

By Marita MatarNo Comments

London

How To Break Out of a Detention Centre – Riverside Studios

“I was born in a strange century where people are taken to jail because they were born with a heart that beats for honesty and justice” – Nawal el Saadawi (Memoirs from the Women’s Prisons, 1984). It is with deep solidarity that the production paid tribute to women in detention centres in the UK, and it is with tremendous honesty that art consolidated with social causes brings justice to women in detention, choosing to sensibilise the public’s eye rather than choosing to stay silent. Allowing visibility for women suffering because of multiple systems of oppressions for a staged production is an empathetic choice by nature. How To Break Out of a Detention Center? A compelling world premiere of a female migrant led international co-production from BÉZNĂ Theatre and Romanian theatre compa...

13Feb

By Gonzalo SentanaNo Comments

London

Cirque Berserk! – Riverside Studios

Imagine you could fly. Imagine that the air is your house, and that floating above the ground is where you thrive and show your true self, shining and gliding without any efforts. And then, you will understand what it feels to see Cirque Berserk! Celebrating its tenth anniversary with a series of performances in Riverside Studios, this amazing theatre-circus spectacular combines contemporary circus-style artistry with a very traditional circus feeling in some of its acts. Inside of the stage, from the very beginning of the performance there is a huge cage in the shape of a ball, creating anticipation for what is presented as the main event, although every single moment of this show is charged with as much adrenaline and astonishing acrobatics. Starting with a group of acrobats jumpi...

12Feb

By Carole GordonNo Comments

London

David Copperfield – Riverside Studios

David Copperfield is one of the best-loved of Charles Dickens' novels and is believed to be at least a semi-autobiographical narration of his life. He said that Copperfield was always his "favourite child". Dickens' family were extremely poor; he was forced as a young boy to work in a factory in conditions that informed his later efforts to achieve social reform by highlighting the cruel lives of London's poorest. Dickens ensured that his writings could reach the general public by publishing in magazines, so that the poorer in society could read them when they could not afford books. Simon Reade's innovative adaptation re-imagines the story as a Victorian Music Hall performance, a popular form of theatre in the 19th century, which reflects the period of Dickens' and Copperfield's li...

<strong>Pericles – Riverside Studios</strong>

11Nov

By Riana HowarthNo Comments

London

Pericles – Riverside Studios

Flute Theatre’s Pericles begins with a hushed stage as the performers sit quietly on benches facing the audience. The sombre silence borders on ritualistic as we wait for the drama to unfold. The story begins in King Antiochus' palace. When Pericles finds out about the incest within the kingdom, Antiochus sends someone to kill him. Pericles' flight starts a long voyage through which he falls in love but then endures several tragedies. Flute Theatre specialises in staging productions of Shakespeare for autistic individuals. Scenes are cleverly brought to life with impressive movement direction and choreography by Juan Sanchez Plaza. This made the play visually captivating, and the masterfully seamless transitions kept it light and dynamic. With strong physicality and emotive expr...

14Sep

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

Horse-Play – Riverside Studios

“Set in a dark sex dungeon, crime-busting superhero, the Stallion, and his intrepid sidekick, Butterfly, have been lured to the secret lair of their arch-nemesis: the dastardly Villainor…!” This all sounds very exciting and Hollywood-style cinematic, but in reality, this is not a play about superheroes at all, it is instead an incredibly camp, modern, and queer take on the traditional British farce, conceived and written by Ian Hallard. The play features two main characters Tim (David Ames) and Tom (Jake Maskall), a married couple of 10 years, seeking to spice up their sex life with a bit of superhero, spandex cosplay. It features a very handsome male sex worker and a room full of sex toys. Sounds like the perfect night out for our adventure seeking couple, however, when an unfortun...

A Plague On All Your Houses – Riverside Studios

16Jul

By Paul AckroydNo Comments

London

A Plague On All Your Houses – Riverside Studios

A Plague On All Your Houses, a new play by writer/director Marcia Kelson presently playing at the Riverside Studios, is a hilarious romp depicting plagues through the ages. Scenes, not in chronological order, imagined the impact, on rulers and ordinary people, of the plagues including those of biblical times, pestilence in French wine fields, the Black Death, which caused so many problems for the budding playwright William Shakespeare, up to recent Covid events and a very worrying peek into the not too distant future. It was presented on a largely bare stage against a black backdrop, with a few boxes as props, and a keyboard musician to one side of the stage. All the characters in all the various historical pieces were played four actors who changed their costumes at the side of ...

9Feb

By Khushboo ShahNo Comments

London

SAMAADHI – Riverside Studios

SAMAADHI, performed by Mohit Mathur and Ivanity Novak at the Riverside Studios as part of the Bitesize Festival, depicts India’s most significant and lamentable colonial event, the Jallianwala Baug Massacre. The audience is welcomed into the auditorium by an ongoing audio news report on the heart-wrenching episode blended with Indian instrumental music. While the news report seems befitting, direct, and aptly contextual, the melodious music does little to set the stage for a rather dark, traumatic, and painful performance to follow. The ‘show in development’ opens to a desolate stage with Mathur dragging a suitcase packed with burnt papers, a winter coat, a piece of cloth, a bullet, and a long stick summing up the minimalistic prop list for the show. The duo uses physical theatre and s...

9Feb

By Khushboo ShahNo Comments

London

Sunday Morning – Riverside Studios

Mat, a successful, middle-aged photographer takes the audience on a heart-warming, epiphanic journey in the one-man show, Sunday Morning. Directed by Jenine Collocott and written by Nick Warren, it was performed by James Cuningham at the Riverside Studios as part of the Bitesize Festival. On learning that his girlfriend is pregnant, a stunned Mat goes for a jog in his neighbourhood to do some “thinking.” The stage with some grey blocks covered with Sunday newspaper collages turned into a neighbourhood in Johannesburg with vivid descriptions offered by Warren and skilfully articulated by Cuningham. The show was delightfully packed with Mat’s reflections on success, independence, and the uninvited role of becoming a father in his 40s. Without making Mat sound like a man-child, Warren’...

21Jun

By Gaurav SinghNo Comments

London

Happy Days – Riverside Studios

Celebrating 60 years of Samuel Beckett’s much-acclaimed play, this special revival of ‘Happy Days’ has Lisa Dwan take on its titular role of Winnie, a woman buried to her waist in sand as she goes about her daily routine, often remarking to herself that indeed, “this is a happy day”. Directed by Trevor Nunn and designed by Robert Jones, this production is a stark reminder of the drudgery and futility of the domestic lives we live, caught in a never-ending cycle of repetition and relief as we seek refuge from the same relationships that drive us to the edge. The two-act structure reinforces the central theme of passage of time and how Winnie, through her slow and inexplicable sinking into the sand, is unable to escape the cruelty and disappointment of her perfect life, especially her marri...