Nikhil Parmar’s one-man show, originally written as a TV pilot, manages to touch on a wide range of themes from Islamophobia to modern fatherhood with hilarity and deftness without feeling intellectually cluttered or preachy. In contrast to some big epic dramas with large casts and elaborate sets that each seek to be ‘a play of ideas’ (and in many cases cram too much in and fail) within a tight hour, Invisible flits from topic to topic in a wacky and slightly surreal way, provoking more thought … [Read more...]
About Mary Beer
Travis Jay: Son of David at Soho Theatre, Downstairs
Travis Jay’s stand-up act at the Soho Theatre manages to balance just enough acidic observation with warm-hearted wit to create a simply funny, true and uplifting experience. As a sort of emotional coming-of-age story, Jay speaks with pride about his father, who inspired the show’s title Son of David, as his defender and champion growing up in south London and the inspiration of his comedian mother. Touching on glimpses of celebrity status (so near and yet so far as evidenced by being … [Read more...]
Girl On An Altar by Marina Carr at Kiln Theatre
Riveting, painful and sumptuous, playwright Marina Carr dares improve on Aeschylus and succeeds - with this production rendered further triumphant thanks to Annabelle Comyn’s direction and a flawlessly magnetic and commanding cast performing on a magnificent set by Tom Piper. Of course, the story of the sacrifice of Iphigenia is tragic and haunting, but Carr takes us to the ‘domestic matter’ - as her Agamemnon (David Walmsley) barks when Clytemnestra’s (Eileen Walsh) father, Tyndareus … [Read more...]
Lotus Beauty by Satinder Chohan at Hampstead Theatre
Warm, funny and lacerating, Satinder Kaur Chohan’s new play opens with a fly-on-the-wall look at the daily attempts women make to be accepted and acceptable in the hostile environments we occupy. In this case, we meet the owner of the titular salon, Reita (Kiran Landa) and her employee, Tanwant (Zainab Hasan) engaging in the commonplace light-hearted lament of ladies: the pair scrutinise their faces for signs of fatigue and aging – they are, after all in a beauty parlour. But we are specifically … [Read more...]
Scandaltown by Mike Bartlett at Lyric Hammersmith Theatre
The Lyric Hammersmith’s Assistant Director, Kwame Owusu, asserts that we are currently in a ‘New Restoration’ theatre period because we’ve now managed to enjoy 9 months of full capacity after two years of darkened or restricted stages. However, whilst we emerge from the plague – a point mentioned with brilliant asperity in Mike Bartlett’s taut and delicious script – we may be rejoicing at the return of some previously curtailed freedoms, but we find ourselves living in precisely the sort of … [Read more...]
Review of Another America at Park Theatre
As a showcase for some impressive emerging performance talent, Bill Rosenfield’s two-act sketch-laden play offers more than a few exciting and engaging moments. However, at over two hours, this adaptation of a self-produced documentary about three young men making a road trip by bicycle from California to the Basketball Hall of Fame in Massachusetts spends too long slogging through a series of meditations on the hopes, delusions and disappointments of the American dream before predictably – and … [Read more...]
Clybourne Park by Bruce Norris at Park Theatre
Triple-laureled a decade ago with a Pulitzer, Olivier and Tony, Oliver Kaderbhai’s revival of Bruce Norris’ 2010 drama about territory, race and gentrification offers some fine performances and dramatic moments but, depressingly, doesn’t illuminate much beyond pointing out that entitled white people don’t much empathise or listen to others – even when given a long time. The play’s first act opens with a doll’s house downlit with a single shaft of light. Alex Lewer’s lighting design is rich … [Read more...]