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Reviews by John O'Brien

Avatar for John OBrien

About John OBrien

JOHN O’BRIEN born in London in 1960 is a born and bred Londoner. His mother was an illiterate Irish traveller. His early years were spent in Ladbroke Grove. He was born at number 40 Lancaster Road. In 1967 the family was rehoused in Hackney. He attended Brooke House School for Boys in Clapton, - as did Lord Sugar. He became head boy and was the first person in his family to make it to university, gaining a place at Goldsmiths College in 1978. He took a degree in Sociology and a PGCE . From 1982 until 1993 he taught at schools in Hackney and Richmond. In 1984-85 he attended Bristol University where he gained a Diploma in Social Administration. From 1985 until 1989 he studied part-time in the evenings for a degree in English Literature at Birkbeck College. He stayed on at Birkbeck from 1990-1992 to study for an MA in Modern English Literature. He left teaching in 1993 and has worked as a tutor, researcher, writer and tour guide. He leads bespoke guided tours on London’s history, art , architecture and culture. He has attended numerous courses at Oxford University - Exeter College, Rewley House & Kellogg College. In London, he attends courses at Gresham College, The National Gallery, The British Museum, The Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, The British Academy and The Royal Society. Read the latest London theatre reviews by all reviewers.

Absent Friends – OnBookTheatre – OSO Arts Centre

May 24, 2023 Last updated: May 24, 2023 10:21 pm By John OBrien Leave a Comment

Absent Friends, OSO, Bridget Lambert, Eoin Lynch, Kieran Seabrook-France, Polly Smith, Liv Koplick, Thomas Willshire Photography Giacomo Giannelli

Snobs and high brows may dismiss Ayckbourn as a mere lightweight, light entertainer of suburbia an ache bore, you might say, but for me, he is England’s Chekhov as well as being our most prolific - he’s written 89 plays and still going - and most undervalued and scandalously under estimated contemporary dramatists. But in a week that has seen the death of Martin Amis, another victim of England’s penchant for cutting down tall poppies, that shouldn’t surprise us. But as Amis so wittily put … [Read more...]

August in England at the Bush Theatre

May 4, 2023 Last updated: May 6, 2023 12:06 pm By John OBrien

Lenny Henry in 'August in England' at Bush Theatre. Photo credit Tristram Kenton.

August in England is Lenny Henry’s playwriting debut. Henry has not just written it but performs it as well. It's a Tour de Force tragi comedy that exposes the grotesque injustices that have come to be called The Windrush Scandal. Using all of his extraordinary talent Henry has given the defining performance of his stellar career and in August Henderson has created a character who epitomises the hopes, dreams and betrayal of the post war generation of Caribbean migrants. It's a searingly … [Read more...]

Trumpets and Raspberries by Dario Fo | Review

April 20, 2023 Last updated: April 21, 2023 12:24 pm By John OBrien

Trumpets and Rasberries

To the Curtain Up pub in Comeragh Road to see Trumpets & Raspberries at the Barons Court Theatre. The Curtain is Up but the theatre is most definitely down in the cellar. As I descended the steep steps I felt a Dantesque sense of going down to the underworld. The theatre is in the basement adjacent to the men's toilets! There is a certain aroma shall we say which hangs in the air. My Italian reference is indeed appropriate for the husband and wife team of Dario Fo and Franca Rame were … [Read more...]

Quality Street at Richmond Theatre

April 13, 2023 Last updated: April 13, 2023 1:13 pm By John OBrien

Quality Street Ensemble Dance

Nostalgia is alive and well. I can think of at least three productions doing the rounds which mine the inexhaustible resources of our great national obsession. Pride and Prejudice (sort of) takes us back to the Jane Austen era of the Regency. Home, I’m Darling homes in on the nostalgia mania that is the 1950s. And now Quality Street once again returns to the Regency (1810-1820 - so called because the Prince of Wales stepped in for his father George III who had gone mad) and the world of Beau … [Read more...]

Review of Home, I’m Darling at Richmond Theatre

April 5, 2023 Last updated: April 11, 2023 8:52 pm By John OBrien

Home, I'm Darling. Neil McDermott, Jessica Ransom, Cassie Bradely & Matthew Douglas.

Over at The Duke of York’s Theatre Sheridan Smith is bringing Shirley Valentine’s escape from domestic drudgery to life for a whole new generation whilst at Richmond in South West London Jessica Ransom does the exact opposite and revels in all things domestic. As these two contrasting takes on women’s lives indicate there is no one 'answer' to the 'woman' question. In fact, as both plays demonstrate there are more questions than answers. For the question of what it means to be a woman is … [Read more...]

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