Month: April 2012
South Downs/The Browning Version
In this superb double-bill, which shares a cast and has transferred to London following an acclaimed run in Chichester, order is everything. Not just to the characters at the two public schools that provide the setting but in terms of our appreciation of both plays. It’s a brave writer who … Continue Reading South Downs/The Browning Version
Barbarians
The volume of ‘Barbarians’ rarely drops below a shout. But Barrie Keeffe’s searing late-’70s depiction of a Britain that chews up its young and spits them out into a brutalising wasteland of broken promises and joblessness works best at high volume. Three linked plays about three lads explore with bruising … Continue Reading Barbarians
Interview: The Wrong Crowd
The Girl with the Iron Claws, The Wrong Crowd’s brilliant mix of live performance and puppetry, was a huge hit at last year’s Edinburgh Festival. The Guardian praised it as a show “that proves Kneehigh hasn’t cornered the market in putting wonder back into fairytales.” Now, this captivating tale, an … Continue Reading Interview: The Wrong Crowd
Interview: David Rosenberg
Electric Hotel, directed by David Rosenberg and choreographer Frauke Requardt, was a big hit at the 2010 Brighton Festival. This year, the pair returns to the city by the sea with the world premiere of Motor Show, an outdoor performance piece that will take place on wasteland. Speaking on the … Continue Reading Interview: David Rosenberg
The Overcoat
Bank clerk Akaky McAkay has lived a low-key life. Since his birth during Elizabeth II’s coronation, his greatest joy has been to re-type loan applications and read Russian literature in bed. But the world is changing, even for the quiet man in the corner. When new management threatens his livelihood, … Continue Reading The Overcoat
Interview: Directors Alexander Zeldin and Kimberley Sykes
French playwright Bernard-Marie Koltès, who died in 1989, is regarded in continental Europe as one of the most important writers of the past century. But with the exception of Roberto Zucco – inspired by the life of an Italian serial killer and staged to great acclaim by the RSC in … Continue Reading Interview: Directors Alexander Zeldin and Kimberley Sykes
Big and Small
Cate Blanchett is superb in Sydney Theatre Company’s new interpretation of German playwright Botho Strauss’s Brechtian exploration of alienation. Unlike some of the big names to tread the boards in London recently, she knows how to capture an audience. But she does so in a production that feels disjointed and … Continue Reading Big and Small
Neighbourhood Watch
Alan Ayckbourn’s brand of Little Britain social comedy has wrapped itself around many subjects over the years. Here, directing as well as writing, he tackles a Big Society-ish world with disarming wit. When a garden gnome is lobbed through a window, the Daily Mail-inflamed residents of Bluebell Hill Development take … Continue Reading Neighbourhood Watch
Bette and Joan
The career-long feud between Joan Crawford and Bette Davis is the stuff of cinematic legend, blending seamlessly with the schlocky pleasures of their only film together, 1962′s Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? Its tale of deranged sibling rivalry between two faded child stars and the stories dogging its production have made it … Continue Reading Bette and Joan
Mary Rose
Matthew Parker’s version of this ghost story by JM Barrie is often mournfully beautiful, capturing the play’s dark swell of loss and need. It’s 1919 and Harry has returned to his family home after years abroad and time in the army. But the Sussex house, although locked up, is not … Continue Reading Mary Rose
Interview: new playwright Alison Evans
Tom Wicker speaks with first-time playwright Alison Evans about her controversial debut, The Supper Party. The Supper Party is a darkly comic exploration of media exploitation and cultural hypocrisy in an age when parents will sign away their children’s lives for fame in print or on TV. Directed by Eleanor … Continue Reading Interview: new playwright Alison Evans
From-Start-to-Finnish programme launch
Today saw the launch of the From-Start-to-Finnish theatrical exchange programme between the Pleasance Theatre and ACE Production, Finland. Pekka Huhtaniemi, the ambassador of Finland, introduced the initiative at his official residency in Kensington Palace Gardens. He emphasised his country’s rich theatrical heritage and the importance of bringing Finnish productions to … Continue Reading From-Start-to-Finnish programme launch
Interview: Actor/Director Michael Pennington
As the UK gears up for the World Shakespeare Festival, renowned actor and director Michael Pennington talks to Tom Wicker about his new book on the Bard. Michael Pennington has lived with William Shakespeare for most of his life. As a child, watching Paul Rogers as Macbeth at the Old … Continue Reading Interview: Actor/Director Michael Pennington