Thursday, March 28

Tag: Royal Court Theatre

Mates in Chelsea – Royal Court Theatre
London

Mates in Chelsea – Royal Court Theatre

A fistful of comedy of manners, a pinch of absurdism with a hint of surreal topping and you get Rory Mullakey’s Mates in Chelsea directed by Royal Court Associate Director Sam Pritchard. It follows the story of a vain, leisure-loving, man-child viscount Theodore ‘Tug’ Bungay (Laurie Kynaston) who has been living off inherited wealth in a spacious West London flat with a housekeeper Mrs Hanratty (Amy Booth-Steel) until one day there is none left and her mother Lady Agrippina Bungay (Fenella Woolgar) is forced to sell their Northumberland castle to a Russian Oligarch. The larger-than-life yet empty-from-within tone is set right from the beginning with clever design (Milla Clarke) and directorial choices- an empty, high-rising, narrow-looking white apartment with steel fittings ...
Imposter 22 – Royal Court Theatre
London

Imposter 22 – Royal Court Theatre

This Royal Court Theatre production presented in collaboration with Access All Areas is an extraordinary production. It has been devised and is performed by a group of 6 actors with learning disabilities. It takes the form of a whodunnit. When one of the characters appears to have been murdered, the group are concerned that because of their disabilities they will be suspected by the police. They therefore resolve to coordinate their stories and to try and find out who might have committed the crime. Danny, a homeless person played by Jamael Westman, joins their group and receives instruction by them in how fit in to a learning-disabled community. An interesting inverse of the struggles which people with learning disabilities face in fitting into society. There are then various d...
Graceland – Royal Court Theatre
London

Graceland – Royal Court Theatre

Graceland by Ava Wong Davies and directed by Anna Himali Howard and Izzy Rabey features the character Nina a British Chinese woman in her mid-20 who falls in love with a wealthy white man who captivates her attention at an ‘optimistic’ Barbecue. Nina is played by Sabrina Wu who gives a convincing performance as she engages with the audience and addresses the absent other people depicting her up and down relationship with her ‘man’, which ends badly for her.  The setting, an attic based room with minimal light, bed, duvet and pillow within an earthy mud filled space that Nina moves into throughout the play which creates moments of drama, when acting out the unfolding conflict and her sheer tenacity in what is, ever changing life events. Her turbulent relationship and self- depreciating ...
Unsolicited (An Unsafe Space for Straight Men) – Royal Court Theatre
North West

Unsolicited (An Unsafe Space for Straight Men) – Royal Court Theatre

Every woman knows the importance of identifying your exits, they plan their routes home from nights out and experience the momentary panic when the taxi driver takes an unfamiliar route.  They have been educated from birth that it is their responsibility to prevent men from raping them, by dressing appropriately, not wearing headphones, holding their keys in the correct manner.  And so, we join All Things Considered Theatre aboard the Spice Up Your Lifeboat as they navigate the treacherous, sometimes deadly, Sea of Misogyny.  Four multi-talented performers (Ashleigh Owen, Frankie Gold, Holly Wright, Shannon Lavelle) bedecked in sequins and glitter guide us through this exploration of unsafe spaces, unwanted dick pics, harassment and more with All Things Considered’s usua...
<strong>Baghdaddy – Royal Court Theatre</strong>
London

Baghdaddy – Royal Court Theatre

Baghdaddy is a poignant and moving piece that shifts the lens on the indirect survivors of war. The play centres on the daughter-father relationship to provide an unseen perspective on the intergenerational trauma of war. It speaks to many truths - of being mixed heritage/ multilingual, making England home, the immigrant student experience, and witnessing war in one’s home country. The two Qareens and Jinn played by Souad Faress, Hayat Kamille and Noof Ousellam are captivating. Their obtuse costumes, clowning influences and magical aspects create a sanctuary for issues to be dwelled on but not be didactic. The memory of when we are first aware of where we are from. Zeroing on the feeling of a child watching an adult making sense of the war that unfolded kilometres away and bending time...
Chatback Theatre’s If This Is Normal to be<br>published by Methuen as Liverpool date added to<br>the UK Tour
NEWS

Chatback Theatre’s If This Is Normal to be
published by Methuen as Liverpool date added to
the UK Tour

Chatback Theatre’s coming-of-age hit If This is Normal, will be published by Methuen next month and will be available at all venues during their UK tour this April. The news comes the team announce an exciting new stop at Liverpool’s Royal Court Theatre. Critically acclaimed at Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2019 and VAULT Festival in 2020, the show follows a trio of teenagers navigating the no-man’s land between childhood and adulthood, complicated by unfiltered access to technology and pop-feminism. The full cast returns from the previous Edinburgh Fringe Festival and VAULT festival runs with Aoife Smyth as Alex (On Railton Road, Brixton Base; If I Can Get This Part Right At Least, Nottingham Playhouse), Isambard Rawbone as Madani (Midnight Hustle, Rogue Productions/ VAULT Festival, Ha...
Is God Is – Royal Court Theatre
London

Is God Is – Royal Court Theatre

To say Aleshea Hariss’ new play is a tale of revenge would be a bit reductionist, for it wouldn’t do justice to its innate exploration of abuse and trauma through the lens of its titular character. The story follows 21-year-old twins Anaia and Racine (played by Adelayo Adedayo and Tamara Lawrance respectively) who travel across the South Western belt of the United States on a mission from ‘god’, a self-christened sobriquet for their mother who they believed was dead for the last 18 years. As kids, the twins managed to survive a gruesome fire that had not only brought their ‘god’ a life of gradual decay, but also had shaped their entire life with visible scars they carried, on their bodies and otherwise. They are now on a quest to find their father, seeking 18 year's worth of answers, just...