You are getting sleepy, very sleepy, your eyes want to close, when you open them you'll be in the enchanted world of illusion, a Victorian-era time warp where carnival barkers beckon, magicians saw women in half and Harry Houdini is about to perform a death-defying feat. Welcome to Bells and Spells, Aurélia Thierrée's captivating piece of physical theatre that … [Read more...]
CANDIDA by Bernard Shaw at Orange Tree Theatre | Review
In 1894, the much respected Irish playwright, and staunch socialist, George Bernard Shaw debuts his play, Candida, to a Victorian era audience. It is a play about a love triangle that develops between a clergyman, his wife and a poet. Initially, not well received, it went on to gain great popularity and was performed at The Royal Court Theatre in the early 1900s and … [Read more...]
Thread by Freya Alderson at the Hope Theatre | Review
Playwright Freya Alderson's Thread is a challenging play. Under the guidance of director Veronica Quilligan it presents the audience with a dilemma concerning allegations of rape against an aged family member and whether it is ever justified to shield a loved one from prosecution for a past crime. Vivian (Christina Balmer) and Margo (Maya-Nika Bewley) are two half … [Read more...]
A Prayer for Wings at the King’s Head | Review
Poverty grinds you down. It blights the future, limits the space you occupy in the world and condemns you to a monotonous existence. In a new production of Welsh writer and director Sean Mathias' 1985 play, A Prayer for Wings, he ensures these themes are drummed into the viewer by its two female protagonists who appeal directly to the audience to bear witness to their … [Read more...]
Translations by Brian Friel at the Olivier Theatre | Review
In 1979 Brian Friel wrote a modern classic, Translations, about the first Ordnance Survey in Ireland carried out in 1834 by the British Army for the purpose of redrawing the map of Ireland and translating the local Gaelic place names from Irish into English. This 19th century military-led manoeuvre proves to be an unwelcome endeavour that exposes the English disdain … [Read more...]
The Girl Who Fell by Sarah Rutherford at Trafalgar Studios | Review
![[L-R] Will Fletcher (Lenny) & Rosie Day (Billie) - The Girl Who Fell - Trafalgar Studios - Rehearsal Images - Photograph by Helen Maybanks](https://www.londontheatre1.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/the-girl-who-fell1200-125x66.jpg)
Sarah Rutherford is a fine writer with a penchant for turning social issues into theatrical drama. Like most new writing her play, The Girl Who Fell, ensures its topic is wrenched from headlines and editorials that saturate the daily press - reportage that no talk-show host gives a hoot about until it become newsworthy. No, it's not same-sex marriage, transgender or … [Read more...]
The Niceties by Eleanor Burgess at the Finborough Theatre
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...]