With her brilliantly written play, The Niceties, Eleanor Burgess presents us with a situation that appears to be about two opposing points of view between an African-American college student, Zoe Reed (Moronkę Akinola), and her professor Janine Bosko (Janie Dee). The length and breadth of the play unfolds in Janine's office with a massive mahogany desk dominating … [Read more...]
Human Issue – Written & Directed by Dean Moynihan | Review
Someone once said that 'Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.' It's a neat philosophy that doesn't work for those who can no longer bear the weight of a troubled existence. Writer/director Dean Moynihan's play, Human Issue, a one-man show, attempts to address the circumstances, such as social isolation, unemployment, and failed love relationships, … [Read more...]
Review of AMSTERDAM at the Orange Tree Theatre
A letter always reaches its destination even if its intended recipient is long since gone. Who bears responsibility for its contents is the question that kicks off the narrative for Maya Arad Yasur’s play, Amsterdam. The play begins in 2019 with a young Jewish violinist living in Amsterdam and thrilled with her canal-side flat in a posh part of the city until … [Read more...]
For Services Rendered at Jermyn Street Theatre | Review
Tennis Anyone? It's a line used in theatre in the early decades of the 20th century to rid the stage of unwanted characters, leaving the main protagonists to disclose secrets that will affect the trajectory of the play. In For Services Rendered, W Somerset Maugham's 1932 play that examines the brutality of war and the families forever destroyed by its carnage, the … [Read more...]
#Networkshop Showcase of Skeletons | Camden Fringe
Damon Rochefort is a seasoned TV writer and contributor to some of the most successful shows on television (Coronation Street, Birds of a Feather, Benidorm). He is now showcasing selected scenes of his own newly commissioned TV pilot, Skeletons, a comedy/murder mystery with suspicious characters and the suggestion of a dead body or two. The piece is bursting with … [Read more...]
Actually by Anna Ziegler at Trafalgar Studios | Review
Casual sex between human beings is murky business. The intertwining of flesh on flesh is never the uncomplicated act the animal kingdom enjoys, rather it's a mash up of flirtation, power plays and fleeting satisfaction that sometimes comes with a hefty price. In Anna Ziegler's 2017 two-character play, Actually, sex is not just a simple act of coitus between two … [Read more...]
The Time Of Our Lies at Park Theatre | Review
Why are we dropping bombs on this peaceful village this morning? It's a question a young American bombardier named Howard Zinn should have asked his commanders before embarking on bombing raids during the Second World War. Instead, his own personal fervour to defeat fascism, coupled with the spurious belief that his aerial bombs were hitting military targets only, … [Read more...]
Daphne, Tommy, The Colonel and Phil at the Union Theatre
Things are not what they appear to be in Daphne, Tommy, the Colonel and Phil, a play that spins on an absurd situation, replete with ludicrous characters and risible circumstances, but doesn't quite make it as dramatic comedy or farce. Where it does hit a high note is in its portrayal of older people, not as characters in the twilight years of existence, but as … [Read more...]
Review of Metamorphosis at the New Diorama Theatre
Metamorphosis, arguably Franz Kafka's best-known work, is a seemingly bizarre, illogical tale about a lowly employee, Gregor Samsa, who wakes one morning to find he's been transformed into a gigantic insect. First written in 1912, intellectuals and literary critics have pondered its meaning for decades. A new version of this nightmarish tale, written and directed … [Read more...]