In choosing to perform The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Iris Theatre set themselves two not insignificant challenges. The first - how to turn a tragic tale into a family-friendly night of entertainment. Quite simply, as it turns out, by writing out the more harrowing passages, minimising the grisly deaths and inventing a new ending which is, if not exactly happy, at … [Read more...]
Review of Improvengers: Pretendgame at the Museum of Comedy
Following their epic success with fantasy show Lord of The Game Of The Ring Of Thrones, Hivemind are back - and this time they’re taking on the high-octane world of Superheroes. The concept remains largely the same; the young cast courageously invite the happy, slightly tipsy audience to suggest a concept, and then, apparently undaunted by some rather unusual … [Read more...]
Flabbergast Theatre’s immersive production of The Swell Mob
An evening spent in the company of a gang of ruthless Victorian cutpurses - what could possibly be better? Sarcasm aside, the answer is - not much. For Flabbergast Theatre’s immersive production of The Swell Mob is so much more than just a play about pick-pockets. To begin with, when they say immersive, they really mean it. This isn’t one of those productions where … [Read more...]
Review of Class at the Bush Theatre, London
Schools are very evocative places. Walking into a classroom, smelling the chalk dust and PVC glue, seeing the brightly coloured poster paint artworks, hearing the scrape of a small chair being pulled out from under a small desk, most of us would be hit by a powerful wave of memories; some good, some bad. For Brian and Donna, summoned to meet their son’s teacher, Mr … [Read more...]
Honk! The Musical by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe
The winner of the 2000 Olivier award for Best Musical, Honk! has spent the last twenty years slipping quietly into suburban obscurity. In 2017 it was revived to great acclaim at the Union Theatre, and has since been workshopping at The Arts Centre Hounslow, from whence it will launch its national tour. It is hard not to draw parallels between the play and the venue … [Read more...]
Shit-faced Shakespeare® – The Taming of the Shrew | Review
Take a bunch of classically trained yet not entirely serious actors, rehearse a play then feed one of them half a bottle of gin just before curtain up and what have you got? Come on, you can do better than that! I said, WHAT HAVE YOU GOT? SH!T FACED SHAKESPEARE! That’s right! Birthed from under one of the more outrageous skirts of the Edinburgh fringe, this group … [Read more...]
The Last Will and Testament of Henry Van Dyke at the Tabard Theatre
When a play’s title is almost longer than the play itself, warning bells start to chime. Often it augurs an evening of tedious, hollow, pretentious pomposity in the name of “Art”. The Last Will and Testament of Henry Van Dyke (henceforth to be known as Henry Van Dyke to save my fingers) is certainly about “Art”. Thankfully, though, there is nothing pompous or … [Read more...]
The Grand Expedition from Gingerline | Review
Reviewing a Gingerline evening poses a problem - how to describe a production that you are not allowed to tell anybody about? Location, menu and details about the performance are all a ferociously guarded secret that we are under strict instructions not to reveal, in order to preserve the aura of mystery and element of surprise that is so key to these … [Read more...]
Th’Importance of Bein’ Earnest at Drayton Arms Theatre
In theatreland, the term “re-imagining” is a tricky beast, filling one with an uncomfortable mixture of hope and dread. If done well, it can breathe new life into a hackneyed production. If not, as is unfortunately often the case, you leave the theatre determined to hunt down the director and yell at him: “Why?? Why did you mess with it? Just leave it … [Read more...]