SevenArc Productions’ In Limbo, appearing at the Tristan Bates Theatre until 3rd August as part of the Camden Fringe Festival doesn’t credit a single playwright, noting that the play is ‘devised by the Company’. Director Georgie Straight is, however, credited by singular name and credit indeed should go to her for the excellent staging of this harrowing and pacey … [Read more...]
Review of Peter Pan at Troubadour White City Theatre
The first half of Sally Cookson’s Peter Pan, co-produced with the National Theatre and Bristol Old Vic, is stunning and wondrous. Showing strong technical skills and revealing imaginative and beautiful staging that nodded as much to (accessible) opera and ballet as it did to a pantomime classic, I beheld the children in the audience rapt and bewitched. I even felt … [Read more...]
Review of The Worst Witch at the Vaudeville Theatre
Emma Reeves’ musical adaption of Jill Murphy’s classic Worst Witch fiction series provides gratifying and uplifting entertainment for the whole family thanks to its multi-talented cast and its (mostly) spectacular staging. With the exception of two wobbly creative moments in the first act (which will likely be rectified), director Theresa Heskins’ production of The … [Read more...]
Review of The Falcon’s Malteser at The Vaults
Feargus Woods Dunlop’s adaptation of Anthony Horowitz’s best-selling 1986 YA novel, The Falcon’s Malteser, has some highly entertaining staged pieces but, at 80+ minutes long, is guilty of being overly faithful to the novel and not going far enough to establish a theatrical life of its own. Four or five mad-capped chase scenes or slow-motion ultra-noir pastiches … [Read more...]
Jellyfish by Ben Weatherill at the Dorfman Theatre | Review
No show has ever made me want to eavesdrop on the conversations of fellow theatre-goers as much as Ben Weatherill’s Jellyfish, which has transferred from the Bush Theatre to the National’s 450-seat Dorfman Theatre earlier this month. Funny and thought-provoking, Weatherill’s two-act, four-hander drama is both searing and sincere. It finds the heights of extremely … [Read more...]
Beg, Borrow & Bitch at the Union Theatre | Review
Beg, Borrow & Bitch is a work in progress. As such, many common teething issues were visible. At times the pair struggled with props, forgot lines and tripped over each other. These are things that the two leads can easily refine as they become more familiar with their act. Abbie Murphy and Ricky Hunt as Cindy and Cassandra, hosts of America’s number one … [Read more...]
Noises Off at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre
Ever since its debut in 1982 at the Lyric Hammersmith itself, undertaking a production of Noises Off is a bit like attempting a triple axel in the figure skating final at the Olympics. The precision and grace required to land this farce’s potential is so extreme that the audience’s tension ramps up. If the cast’s timing succeeds, not only are the funnies so non-stop … [Read more...]
Hard Copy at Camden People’s Theatre | Review
Isabelle Sorente’s ultra-dark (and ultra-French) script is a very funny and twisted play in the best tradition of close-to-the-bone Gallic humour-meets-terror. Jo Emery, who describes herself as a ‘creative artist working in semi-professional/professional theatre’, directs, designs and performs as a quarter of the ensemble cast. If bringing Hard Copy to premiere in … [Read more...]
Review of Reformation at the White Bear Theatre
James Charlton has written a dense and layered work with much texture to experience but perhaps just a tad too much to grab in the White Bear’s small and immediate theatrical setting. His play is interesting and well-constructed but, in its current staging, succeeds even more as a dramatic study (with teleplay potential) rather than as the fundamentally gripping … [Read more...]