Southwark Playhouse Borough Archives

Invisible Me – Southwark Playhouse Borough

13Apr

By Paul AckroydNo Comments

London

Invisible Me – Southwark Playhouse Borough

Three individuals, turning 60 and leading solitary lives, starting to explore new horizons, eventually meeting up, may sound a bit of an artifice for a plot. But with a tightly written text by Bren Gosling and first-class acting and direction, it is a theatrical gem. We meet: Lynn, played by Tessa Peake-Jones. Divorced from her uncaring husband and now living in her late mother’s house, working as a cleaner in a Travelodge. A surprise encounter leads to an unexpected foray into the world of online "personal services". Alec, played by Kevin N Golding. A taxi driver, divorced with two adult children who he rarely sees. His tedious world interrupted by an encounter with a mysterious woman half his age. Jack, played by James Holmes. Still in grief over the death of his ...

13Apr

By Zain RussellNo Comments

London

Flyby – Southwark Playhouse Borough

Flyby at Southwark Playhouse is a new musical that explores love, regret, and the consequences of impulsive decisions. The story centres on Daniel and Emily, whose relationship is revealed through a mix of present-day narration and flashbacks after Daniel steals a spacecraft and disappears into space. This unusual premise works well as a metaphor, allowing the audience to reflect on what drives someone to run away rather than confront the realities of a relationship. At its core, Flyby presents a deeply relatable love story. The connection between Daniel and Emily feels authentic, capturing the highs and lows that many will recognise. Their dynamic moves naturally between affection, tension, and conflict, showing how small misunderstandings and emotional reactions can escalate into some...

It Walks Around the House at Night– Southwark Playhouse Borough

10Mar

By Charles PipeNo Comments

London

It Walks Around the House at Night– Southwark Playhouse Borough

When struggling working-class actor Joe (George Naylor) accepts a seductively well-paid job offer from an alluring and wealthy man, he is thrust into an increasingly nightmarish situation that has him questioning his sanity. It Walks Around the House at Night blends elements of psychological thriller, Gothic horror, and dark comedy into an atmospheric and entertaining thrill ride. Naylor gives a fantastic performance as Joe, supported by a very strong script from playwright Tim Foley. With a sardonic yet affable charm, Joe immediately wins the audience over, and as a result they are invested and gripped when he is placed into peril. Sometimes Joe’s characterisation is a little inconsistent – one moment he is naïve and credulous, the next he has near-psychic levels of insight – but...

14Oct

By Stewart Who?No Comments

London

Lifers – Southwark Playhouse Borough

As part of my drama degree in late ‘90s Liverpool, we were required to complete a Theatre In Education project (TIE). The aim was to bring live performance to a civic space where such larks are rare or unlikely. Stage a grime-infused Macbeth at an inner-city school. Perform avant garde ballet in a local authority funded care home. That type of thing. Together with my crew of fellow misfits on my course, we opted to bring our theatrical talents to the most captive of audiences, prison inmates. The concept shattered when faced with the complex, frustrating and brutal reality of staging anything in a prison. Simply visiting an inmate at a UK correctional facility is never less than a bureaucratic, dystopian terror trip. Do-gooding, weed-fuelled drama students are likely fall hard at the fi...

The Trials – Southwark Playhouse Borough

31Aug

By Michelle KnightNo Comments

London

The Trials – Southwark Playhouse Borough

Southwark Playhouse Young Ensemble is a brand new theatre company comprising of young people 19-25yrs from South London; with the aim of giving young people an opportunity to take the next steps into a performing career. The Trials is a revival of Dawn King play previously staged in 2022 which takes you into the future and a lookback at the catastrophic effects of climate change. This play is not only thought provoking its hard hitting, but you also cannot hide away from the consequences. The serious impact of climate change on future generations, “the ones most affected by it” and planet earth is laid out clearly in Trials. The play focusses specifically on three people the ‘Dinosaurs’ the older defendant’s explaining within 5 minutes their actions as to why they ‘personally’ co...

Joanna Carrick, writer, and director of The Ungodly at Southwark Playhouse Borough

24Oct

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

Interviews

Joanna Carrick, writer, and director of The Ungodly at Southwark Playhouse Borough

As we move towards winter with its dark nights; Halloween, or to give it its Celtic name, Samhain; is our first festival to celebrate ‘as the dead walk the earth’ according to ancient myths. Witches have become a part of this festival, undoubtedly due to the witch trials, and the many ‘witch’ deaths. The Ungodly delves into the mid-17th century era of the witch trials, focusing upon Witchfinder General, Matthew Hopkins’ stepsister Susan Edwards. North West End UK’s Deputy Editor, Caroline Worswick, discussed the witch trials with the play’s writer and director Joanna Carrick. The Ungodly begins its story in 1645, set in the village of Mistley, on the Stour Estuary. Can you explain how the Witch Trials were introduced into 17th-century England? It was a t...