Family relationships are never easy; tied together by blood, kinship, marriage or choice, family members can take one another for granted, disguise difficult truths, hold one another to account, and feel betrayal and loss keenly. In Caryl Phillips' Strange Fruit, set in 1980s Britain, Vivian and her two sons arguably experience greater obstacles than most, as they … [Read more...]
Armadillo by Sarah Kosar at the Yard Theatre | Review
Have you ever held a gun? A real one? A trip to the Yard to catch Sarah Kosar’s new play Armadillo may make you feel as though you had, for guns are everywhere - they permeate the very fabric of this piece. Set in America, the play centres on married couple Sam (Michelle Fox) and John (Mark Quartley). Both hedging 30, their addiction to guns is apparent from the off, … [Read more...]
The Amber Trap written by Tabitha Mortiboy at Theatre 503 | review
The corner shop in a bustling Northern town is often featured on the likes of Coronation Street and other popular television programmes; it has become a cultural cornerstone, a place that feels both homely and familiar, and yet not quite home, given the sinister goings-on that can occur at your local 7-Eleven. The Amber Trap by Tabitha Mortiboy is no exception to this … [Read more...]
Scary Bikers at Trafalgar Studios | Review
One might wonder what cycling and Brexit have in common; well, truth be told, not a lot - but both are intimately woven into the fabric of John Godber’s latest endeavour, Scary Bikers. This two-hander, written, directed and starring Godber himself, alongside Jane Thornton, drills down to the heart of the decision most Yorkshire-dwelling folk took to vote leave in the … [Read more...]
Holly Morgan: Is A Witch, Get Her! at the Vault Festival
Holly Morgan’s third venture at the Vaults Festival offers an informed and terribly amusing look at the history of witches, charting their inception in the middle ages to the modern witch of today. The premise is simple - travel through time to unpick how witches (and the practice of witchcraft in general) have morphed from their original depiction of herbalists … [Read more...]
Review of Cougar at the Orange Tree Theatre
Rose Lewenstein’s new two-hander, Cougar, is neatly staged in a series of hotel rooms, delineating the relationship between John (an earthy Mike Noble) and Leila (a sultry, mincing Charlotte Randle). What begins as a random encounter after a conference within the hosting hotel, unfolds into a lengthy liaison as Leila (a high- powered environmental expert) invites … [Read more...]
Dealing with Clair by Martin Crimp at The Orange Tree Theatre | Review
Martin Crimp’s breakthrough play, Dealing with Clair, opened in 1988 on the back of the well-documented disappearance of Suzy Lamplugh, a West London estate agent whose last known whereabouts included meeting a mysterious client scheduled in Lamplugh’s work diary as ‘Mr Kipper’. Now, ironically coinciding with the re-opening of the Lamplugh case, Richard Twyman … [Read more...]
The Sweet Science of Bruising – Southwark Playhouse | Review
The Sweet Science of Bruising is Joy Wilkinson’s fascinating foray into the inception of ‘lady boxing’, in the mid-1800s. This fictional account follows four equally compelling narratives, women who often begin boxing out of necessity, using it to exert a form of freedom, yet are driven to continue the sport due to the sheer euphoria they feel within the ring. It’s … [Read more...]
The Egg Rumour at The Old Red Lion Theatre | Review
The issue of egg freezing is controversial; offered by the likes of Apple and Facebook, amongst other companies, it promises to protect a woman’s fertility so she can concentrate on her career in her 20s and 30s. The Egg Rumour by Ellamae Cieslik, transferred to the Old Red Lion from the Camden fringe earlier this month, explores such an option through the eyes of … [Read more...]