Author: Tom Wicker
Interview: Julian Crouch
I am in the Barbican Pit surrounded by open plastic crates full of Punch puppets and masks. In front of me, their designer and maker, Julian Crouch, is showing me how they work. But although he is talking to me, I am not the focus of his attention. He looks … Continue Reading Interview: Julian Crouch
Interview: Adrian Jackson
Cardboard Citizens’ artistic director Adrian Jackson tells Tom Wicker what inspired his new play, A FEW MAN FRIDAYS. In the late 1960s, the inhabitants of the British-owned Chagos Islands were evicted to make way for a US military base. This was the result of a secret deal that saw the … Continue Reading Interview: Adrian Jackson
Interview: Ed Dick
Director Ed Dick talks to Tom Wicker about reviving playwright and artist Philip Ridley’s brilliant and brutal debut play, The Pitchfork Disney, at the Arcola Theatre. When The Pitchfork Disney was first performed at the Bush Theatre in 1991 it had some audience members fleeing with terror. Ridley’s distinctive, darkly … Continue Reading Interview: Ed Dick
Shallow Slumber
Ex-social worker Moira radiates defeat. Limp-shouldered, her grey dressing gown hangs loosely from her as she clutches a mug of tea and looks with deadened eyes at Dawn, the young woman recently released from prison who is asking tearfully and increasingly angrily why she “won’t fucking help” her. “Because you … Continue Reading Shallow Slumber
Stacy
The title of Jack Thorne’s deceptively simple one-man play of 2007 – the most recent revival of which has transferred to London following a critically acclaimed run at last year’s Edinburgh Festival – is a neat bit of misdirection. We never meet the eponymous Stacy; we only encounter her through … Continue Reading Stacy
Interview: Alfie Enoch
Tom Wicker talks to former Harry Potter star Alfie Enoch ahead of his biggest adventure yet: making his professional stage debut in London. Enoch, who portrayed Dean Thomas in the blockbuster film series, is starring in the UK premiere of Happy New, a dark comedy by award-winning Sydney playwright Brendan … Continue Reading Interview: Alfie Enoch
The Art of Concealment
Giles Cole’s new play focuses on the private life of British writer Terence Rattigan, who is very much in vogue at the moment – an irony that would not have been lost on the mid-twentieth century playwright. Last year saw the release of a Rachel Weisz-starring film adaptation of The Deep … Continue Reading The Art of Concealment
Huis Clos
In today’s world of reality TV and instant celebrity, Jean-Paul Sartre’s 1943 vision of a place of damnation in which one of the greatest torments is that there are no mirrors feels chillingly prescient. “Hell is other people” when their faces, distorted by lust, fear or self-deception, are the only … Continue Reading Huis Clos
Guys and Dolls
The Fringe’s recent winning streak of musical adaptations continues into 2012 with this raucously fun version of the enduring 1950 Broadway hit by Frank Loesser, Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. Director Racky Plews proves that less is more, eschewing the razzmatazz of other revivals to make a virtue of the … Continue Reading Guys and Dolls
Copyright Christmas
As the financial chill cuts even deeper and credit cards buckle under the strain of present-buying, performance group Duckie’s immersive satire on the cult of Christmas consumerism – directed by Mark Whitelaw and designed by Robin Whitemore – should be a belt-tighteningly relevant experience. But beneath the colour and the … Continue Reading Copyright Christmas
The Ladykillers
In the summer of 1954, while living in Hampstead, screenwriter Bill Rose had a dream about five criminals sharing a house with a little old lady. This stage adaptation of 1955 Ealing comedy The Ladykillers, the film it inspired – now at the Gielgud Theatre following a successful stint in … Continue Reading The Ladykillers
Cinderella
Alex Young deserves top marks for bringing a touch of magic to west London with his ambitious revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s sweeping musical fairytale. Designer Christopher Hone takes the tiny space and creates a toy-box world filled with illuminated houses stacked like presents. While not the song writing duo’s … Continue Reading Cinderella
Orpheus in the Underworld
Scottish Opera and Northern Ireland Opera’s co-production of Jacques Offenbach’s 1858 comic opera maintains the cheeky spirit of previous versions, updating the composer’s bawdy take on the Orpheus and Eurydice myth to mirror the world we live in now. Gone is the original’s mockery of Parisian life in Napoleon’s Second … Continue Reading Orpheus in the Underworld
Interview: Rebecca Atkinson-Lord and Rachel Briscoe
In late 2010, Rebecca Atkinson-Lord and Rachel Briscoe were appointed joint Directors of Theatre at Ovalhouse, in Lambeth. Last month saw the start of their Lady-Led season, the first they have programmed at their new home, with Lagan by Stacey Gregg. Since then, they have staged Tomboy Blues – The … Continue Reading Interview: Rebecca Atkinson-Lord and Rachel Briscoe
TaniwhaThames
Something ancient is lurking in the Thames in this company-devised piece. The shapeshifting Taniwha of Māori legend has travelled oceans to lure men and women into the murky depths of England’s most famous river. After a rather forced start where you’re encouraged to toast the Taniwha with a shot of … Continue Reading TaniwhaThames
Crash
The car left the road at 6:30am on Monday, November 3. Heavy rainfall the night before had resulted in hazardous driving conditions, which were exacerbated by the leaf cover caused by recent gales. The road, a shortcut between two towns, is notorious for accidents. It is narrow, with many unexpected … Continue Reading Crash