A mixture of mime, dance and words performed by an excellent 4-strong cast, Loop is an exploration of the generation gap issue facing one family over a 50 year period. The play begins with a beautifully written descriptive, hopeful and often humorous monologue as Woman (Emily Thornton) plans to leave her East London home for what she believes is an exciting new life in Manchester. Thornton’s delivery is excellent managing to give us a real feel of her hope for the future as she makes her … [Read more...]
Review of Brimstone and Treacle at The Hope Theatre
Banned from transmission by the BBC in the 1970s, this excellent production coincides with the 40th anniversary of Dennis Potter's controversial play. Patricia 'Pattie' Bates (Olivia Beardsley) is being cared for by her parents, Tom (Paul Clayton) and Amy Bates (Stephanie Beattie), after being paralysed following an accident whilst out visiting a friend two years earlier. The family are relaxing at home when they receive an unexpected visit from Martin (Fergus Leathem) who not only says he … [Read more...]
Chinglish at Park Theatre has ‘intrigue, romance and laughs’
Written by David Henry Hwang and previously performed in New York, this production is the UK premiere of Chinglish and is a play with a difference; half the dialogue is being spoken in Mandarin with (often funny) translated surtitles. The play tells the story of an American businessman, Daniel Cavanaugh (Gyumri Sarods)’s attempt at “doing business in China”. In the first scene we see Daniel presenting at a business forum in Cleveland Ohio. The slides shown in this presentation give us a … [Read more...]
I’m Gonna Pray For You So Hard – Finborough Theatre – Review
Set in a Manhattan apartment, Halley Feiffer’s I’m Gonna Pray For You So Hard is a two-handed play exploring the fractured relationship between an award-winning playwright and his aspiring actress daughter. The play begins with David (Adrian Lukis) and Ella (Jill Winternitz) sharing a bottle of wine whilst waiting for the reviews of “The Seagull” (a play in which she’s appearing) are published. When the reviews eventually come he teases her further by raising her hopes by saying it is a "rave" … [Read more...]
Strange The Road at The Hope Theatre – Review
Set somewhere between 1933 and 2033, Lil Warren’s Strange the Road is a noir-y thriller and billed as a letter to Chandler. It is fast paced, gritty and sexy. The play has a five-strong cast but centres on three characters; Frenchie (Joey Ellis) (who is also the narrator) is a famed storyteller/liar, Verda (Andromeda Godfrey) and Frenchie’s “sorta uncle” Molloy (Pat Koupland). The play begins with the four men drinking in “Marriotts” where Verda, works as a waitress, Frenchie is entranced by … [Read more...]