Category: Theatre
Interview: Philip Ridley
“It’s a strange kind of dream time.” Talented playwright, artist, screenwriter and children’s novelist Philip Ridley is talking to me about how it feels finally to be kicking his new play Shivered out of the front door and into the world. But he could also be describing the past few years of his … Continue Reading Interview: Philip Ridley
Going Dark
Sound&Fury’s innovative new production plunges us into darkness to connect the vastness of the night sky with our lives, loves and ways of seeing the world. Sometimes the lines are a little too obviously drawn; but ultimately this cosmic exploration of human loss and the power (and necessity) of imagination … Continue Reading Going Dark
The Summer House
Three men – two doctors and one stranger – fret over their career paths and ponder dormer windows, while sniping at each other like children and trying to achieve the impossible task of seeming macho by getting pissed in a hot tub. This collective effort from Will Adamsdale, Neil Haigh, … Continue Reading The Summer House
The Lady from the Sea
There are times during this revival of Ibsen’s take on the Little Mermaid myth – premiering a new translation by director Stephen Unwin – you wish that the “lady from the sea” would just jump in the ocean and not come back. While Unwin is good at teasing out the … Continue Reading The Lady from the Sea
Sex with a Stranger
While the BAC revisits Homer’s The Odyssey care of Paper Cinema, Trafalgar Studios’ latest production also tells the story of an epic journey. But instead of gods and monsters, Adam (Russell Tovey) and Grace (Jaime Winstone) must contend with sub-zero temperatures, night buses, taxis and their utter mismatch on the … Continue Reading Sex with a Stranger
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
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
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
Love, Question Mark
Are swans the only monogamous species on the planet? And is it really possible to distinguish love from sex? These are among the questions writer and director Robert Gillespie (of That Was the Week That Was fame) tackles in this wry look at sexual politics and social conventions. Unfortunately, the play’s … Continue Reading Love, Question Mark