London theatre news, reviews and interviews by Neil Cheesman

Ed Currie and Andy Coxon, who went from acting every day to founding Akt – the all-vegan, gender-neutral, natural, plastic-free deodorant brand, which is tested on performers – not animals.

With vigorous and demanding schedules under hot lights on the West End, Ed and Andy struggled to find a deodorant that prevented the smell of hard work. Over a three year journey, Ed and Andy created, developed and formulated the award-winning balm in Ed’s kitchen – which now comes in three refined scents, accompanied by The Applicator and newly launched, The Assistant.

Read our Q&A with Ed and Andy.

Ed and Andy’s personal values have led Akt to be vegan, sustainable and plastic-free.
Sustainability is something that is very important to us as individuals, it was never an option to create a product that wasn’t environmentally friendly! We want to make it easier for the consumer to be sustainable. As an industry, we have a responsibility to protect the world that we live in and as part of this we are actively part of a movement looking for change. We’re currently on a journey to becoming a ‘Net negative plastic company’ with partnerships with plastic-free charities in the works. Overall, we are very proud to be plastic-free, sustainable and vegan.

How did acting lead you to create Akt and how were you able to start a business during a pandemic?
Our story began in 2015. Andy and I met whilst performing in the original cast of Beautiful – The Carole King Musical in the West End. With gruelling schedules and 8 shows a week in the same costumes under hot lights, we needed a deodorant that worked. Nothing covered our sweat patches, or the inevitable smell of sweat when we were performing – typical deodorants just weren’t cutting it. This was the point where our journey truly began. We both began researching and after 3 years of developing formulations on the hob – EUREKA! We then ran a hugely successful Kickstarter campaign by handing samples to every West End performer then we simply HAD to make it into a business.

Andy was on day 2 of rehearsals as Tony in West Side Story at The Royal Exchange, Manchester, when the pandemic hit. At this point, we both sat down and said “Right, let’s try and pay ourselves enough to get by and work full-time on Akt”, which was due to launch in May 2020 and it did! So in a way the pandemic was a blessing in disguise for Akt, we definitely wouldn’t have been able to focus on it as much as we would have wanted to without the halt the pandemic caused. We consider ourselves very lucky to not only have been given a way of creating ourselves a job, but also to have been given a focus and routine during these tough times. It’s certainly true that every day is a challenge, due to learning every element of running a business from scratch, but so far it’s paying off and we’re loving it!

I understand that Ed, the ‘nose’ of Akt lost his sense of smell as a result of COVID-19 – how did this affect working with Akt products?
Deciding on favourable scents without being able to actually smell was really hard. However, I saw this challenge as an opportunity for those closest to me to get involved and have their own unique impact on the brand, by deciding the scents for upcoming launches for Akt – so the new scents have been chosen with a community-led approach, which I think is wonderful.

What next for Akt and long term?
2021, luckily, is set to be a big year for us at Akt, with new research well underway for new scents to be launched in 2021 as well as new products coming, such as soap bars – we are really excited to be branching out our product offering. We’ll also be launching in Germany this Summer. We have received overwhelmingly positive feedback on our product so we can’t wait to launch in more markets.

How have you coped during the current pandemic and what lies ahead with the prospect of the West End and theatres re-opening?
We think, like most people, Covid has been really tough. We have of course faced challenges, we work as a remote team so there have been elements of running the business that have been difficult in that sense, but at times it’s also been comforting to know that everyone is in the same situation. Andy and I haven’t been able to celebrate a single Akt success in person. Luckily for us, we’re in a position where we’re able to do something that keeps us busy and focussed. At Akt, we’re learning all the time, trying new ways of working and continuing to build our business.

We really do hope things will start to open up soon, it’s such a shame to see our theatre community suffer in the way that it has. After the previous government announcement, it does look like the end is in sight, fingers crossed.

Have a browse of Akt products

Oscar Dufrenne was born in Lille on 13th March 1875. As a young man, he left his working-class family in Lille (his parents were upholsterers) and set off to make his fortune in Paris.

Having created a successful career, during the Roaring Twenties and into the thirties, Dufrenne offered colourful, sequin-laden shows, with scenes featuring scantily-clothed entertainers that while highly popular with most of the public, were labelled ‘obscene’ by detractors.

Dufrenne fiercely defended his profession against the public authorities. Sensitive to the harsh working conditions endured by both theatre workers and artists, he campaigned against their precariousness and irregular wages.

In April 1929, at the age of 54, he stood as a candidate for the Radical Party in the municipal elections for the 10th Arrondissement in Paris, where there were many entertainment venues. His programme focused on defending businesses and tradesmen who made a living from theatre. With substantial support from the local people, he was easily elected.

Dufrenne was a prominent figure at council meetings. He tirelessly proposed measures in support of theatres and social hygiene. He stood in the legislative elections of May 1932, but narrowly lost to the right-wing candidate.
Dufrenne’s professional success as a theatre producer aroused envy and jealousy amongst some, for his lifestyle did not correspond with the ideal of notability: he made no secret of his homosexuality or his affiliations with groups that were reviled by reactionaries.

Before founding touring companies, Dufrenne had played at the Grand Guignol in Paris. He played melodrama, and ultimately became managing director of the Casino de Paris and the Palace Kinema, together with a number of casinos. He was a charitable man and a well-known figure in Montmartre, the centre of Paris nightlife.

Dufrenne was murdered late on the evening of Sunday 24th September 1933. Shortly after half-past midnight, his body was found in his office half rolled up in a carpet and covered with the mattress from a divan. There were several wounds on his head.

Dufrenne’s wallet, with 3,500 francs, and his gold watch were missing. The safe had also been opened with Dufrenne’s keys, but it had contained only papers. The police thought that robbery may not have been the motive.

Blood was spattered all over the desk, walls and divan and Dufrenne’s clothes were half torn off, showing how violent the struggle had been. His face showed evidence of his terrible injuries but no weapon was found.

Dufrenne had dined with friends earlier that evening and was cheerful when he left for the Palace Music Hall, which he reached at 10.20 pm, going straight up to his office.

At 12.45 am, M. Audouis, the manager of the Palace, entered the office and found the lamp lit and everything in disorder. He unravelled the bundle lying in a corner and was horrified to find Dufrenne’s body.

There were seventeen head wounds, but doctors stated that death resulted from suffocation, likely due to the weight of the murderer kneeling on his chest.

Nothing had been seen or heard by anyone. There were numerous entrances and exits to the Palace and Dufrenne’s office was clearly marked.

During the days after the crime, the newspapers stated that the police were keen to interview a young man, who was either a sailor or someone dressed as one. There were reports of Dufrenne having met a sailor in July of that year on the French Riviera and that a young man wearing a sailor’s uniform was seen accompanying Dufrenne into his office on the evening of his murder. It was thought that Dufrenne met him in the auditorium where they probably had a rendezvous.

M. Serge Nicolesco, Dufrenne’s private secretary, made a statement to the press in which he declared that there was no truth in the statement that he was a beneficiary of the will of Dufrenne. He said the sole beneficiaries were members of Dufrenne’s family.

On Monday 2nd October 1933, Reuters reported: a pair of scissors missing from the desk of Oscar Dufrenne, were by their absence providing a new clue.

When Dr Paul, the medical-legal expert, performed the post mortem, he stated that the facial injuries were caused by a sharp instrument rather than a heavy one – and could have been caused by scissors.

Death was caused by suffocation – the mattress from the divan had been thrown on top of the prostrate Dufrenne, possibly in an effort to deaden any moans. It is thought that the thief may only have meant to stun Dufrenne while he opened the safe.

French detectives followed up on several clues. The most important was the discovery that the murderer had washed their bloodstained hands in a private cloakroom, the existence of which was not generally known, even to most of the theatre staff.

Another clue was that a man with fresh scratches on his face had a hurried drink at a bar nearby shortly after the time when the murder is believed to have taken place.

Letters are said to have been found in Dufrenne’s house which may have thrown light on the mystery.

Enquiries by the police led them to find out that a man dressed as a sailor had, on the evening of the murder, applied for a free pass to the promenade, using Dufrenne’s name.

Suspicion fell on Paul Laborie, and during the investigations, two of his acquaintances are alleged to have stated that he had borrowed a sailor’s uniform from one of them and a billiard cue from another. Laborie was alleged to have said that the cue would make a capital bludgeon.

On Monday 16th October 1933, a young Frenchman called Andre Pierrat (aged 25-26), surrendered to police at Santander in northern Spain, where he made a statement in which he confessed to killing Oscar Dufrenne. The police first thought he was ‘shamming’ but then telegraphed French police to come to Santander to investigate.
According to Pierrat’s confession, Dufrenne invited him into his office and made a ‘certain proposition’. When Pierrat declined, Dufrenne refused to let him leave.

Pierrat’s statement alleged that he attacked Dufrenne with a paperweight (or a knife, depending on which newspaper report you read) while he was with him in his office. He then went to Versailles, where he changed the naval uniform he was wearing for plain clothes. He then proceeded to the Franco-Spanish frontier, which he crossed at Fuenterrabia by swimming. He then walked to Santander. He stated that he thought he had only wounded Dufrenne and he was horrified to learn the next day when he read in the newspapers that Dufrenne was dead.

On Tuesday 17th October 1933, Inspector Bonny of the Paris CID, stated that the man’s statement was untrue, and that his name was not Andre Pierrat but Pierre Riou. It was established that Riou had been living in Spain since November 1931.

Monday 24th September 1934: Following the detention in Barcelona of a young Frenchman, Paul Laborie, in connection with the murder of Dufrenne, Police were onto a new lead. They had a clue as to the identity of an unknown man who placed a laurel wreath on the grave of Dufrenne, with the words, “First anniversary, the unknown sailor. P Laborie is innocent.”

The florist where the wreath was bought described the customer who she had sold it to. The description matched a young man who was alleged to have known Dufrenne and who had suddenly disappeared from his lodgings in Paris. A formal extradition was submitted to the Spanish authorities.

In Barcelona, Marie Delage (also known as Nelly Alonso), a 40-year-old French woman who shared Laborie’s existence in Spain, declared that she was ready to die to save Laborie.

The police in Paris looked for a man named ‘Bobby’ who placed the wreath on Dufrenne’s grave. They believed that ‘Bobby’ had known Laborie.

September 1934: ‘Bobby’, whose full name was Raymond Perrier, was subsequently detained and he stated that he would help prove the innocence of Paul Laborie.

A woman of the name of Madame Lacroix declared that she had ‘inside’ information regarding the murder – although this information did not materialise.

In November 1934, Paul Laborie was questioned by the examining magistrate. A witness, who had noticed a man in a sailor’s uniform on the night of the murder on the promenade of the Palace Music Hall, stated on seeing Laborie, “That’s the fellow. I recognise him formally.”

An acquaintance of Laborie said that he had met him at a friend’s rooms a couple of days before the tragedy. Laborie had picked up a billiard cue with the words – “That ought to do the trick. I missed him the first time, but the next time I will make a good job of it.” A sailor’s uniform was lying on the bed. Laborie was said to have laughed at this evidence.

At the trial of Paul Laborie in October 1935, Laborie denied that he had known Dufrenne, that he had gone to the Palace Theatre, or that he had dressed as a sailor. He said that he went to Spain the morning after the crime was committed without knowing what had happened.

At the opening of the trial, the Advocate General, Maitre Gaudel, suggested that all those with “tender ears” should withdraw, in view of the unsavoury details in the case – but none moved.

The main witness for the prosecution, Davidovitz, had claimed to have seen Laborie dressed as a sailor in the Palace Music Hall on the night of the crime, but when he gave evidence he seemed to waver in the opinion that Laborie really was the man after all.

A second witness, Jean Riguet, said that while riding on the underground around the time of the murder, his attention was drawn to a sailor who appeared extremely nervous. When he saw Laborie’s picture in the paper he was convinced they were one and the same person.

Counsel for the defence said it had been suggested that a former sailor had lent his uniform to Laborie. With the permission of the court, Laborie was asked to try on the uniform. When he did so and returned to court all present roared with laughter, as the uniform barely reached his elbows and stopped short of his socks.

A series of charges were made against Paul Laborie, primarily one of premeditated murder. Facing the death penalty, Laborie strongly denied all of the charges. Many of the witnesses called to testify withdrew or changed their statements, causing confusion among the jurors. Gradually, people began to doubt the value of the investigation.

Most of all, the victim, Oscar Dufrenne, was gradually transformed into a culprit whose “bad morals” offended decent morality.

Despite the evidence gathered by the police, which left little doubt about Laborie’s guilt, the court case quickly descended into farce.

The complexity and contradictions of the investigation, brought about by the intense focus on the victim’s lifestyle and habits, meant that Laborie was set free and the methods used by the police were criticized in a court case that ultimately put homosexuality on trial. The victim became the guilty party – and the acquittal of Laborie signalled a ‘return to order’.

October 1935: After a trial lasting three days, Paul Laborie, ‘the pale-faced delicate youth of 24‘, was acquitted at the Seine Assize Court of the murder of M. Oscar Dufrenne. The verdict was as expected, while the press revelled in the scandalous nature of the affair.

Dufrenne is buried in the cemetery of Pere Lachaise (89th Division).

His former partner Henri Varna succeeded him alone at the head of the Casino de Paris and other theatres. The name of the Palace was changed to that of Alcazar de Paris.

Homosexuality on Trial
by Danièle Voldman , 19 February 2018
translated by Susannah Dale
https://booksandideas.net/Homosexuality-on-Trial.html

Florence Tamagne, Le Crime du Palace. Enquête sur l’une des plus grandes affaires criminelles des années 1930
https://journals.openedition.org/criminocorpus/4407

Tomb
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Chris Omaweng

1. A Night at the Musicals with Christina Modestou – Southwark Playhouse – 19 October
There was something for (very nearly) everyone in this broad range, with a set long enough to genuinely justify having an interval: the originally advertised 100-minute running time was underestimated by 45 minutes or so. […] Three special guests all gave excellent contributions to the evening […] One can only hope the future burns bright for everyone involved in this concert. A magical experience from beginning to end.

2. Tom Brown’s School Days – Union Theatre – 7 January
Things may have been riotous and uncomfortable at times, but the messiness and the whole gamut of emotions throughout the play make for a riveting experience.

3. Sunset Boulevard in Concert at Home – Curve Theatre – 22 December
The cast are singing to the camera rather than projecting to the back row of the upper circle, and they have adapted well to the fresh challenges a production of this nature presents […] A magnificent achievement, showcasing how British theatre can continue to shine even in a global pandemic.

4. Delivery – Chiswick Playhouse – 12 March
There aren’t many plays like Delivery, which successfully navigates through some very serious subjects whilst eliciting laugh out loud laughter from the audience – and without leaving theatregoers feeling even slightly guilty about chortling away at something they’ve just witnessed.

5. Asò – Streatham Space Centre – 12 December
Overall, the show was challenging as much as it was entertaining, as thought-provoking as much as it was hilarious. Full marks, then, for a production that demonstrates the two faces of theatre, sorrow and joy, with confidence and charm.

6. The Seth Concert Series with Audra McDonald (streamed) – 13 July
For all the evident pain (there are, McDonald asserted, two pandemics going on in America, Covid and systemic racism), the concert ended with a message of hope and positivity in ‘Climb Every Mountain’ from The Sound of Music. An enriching and enjoyable experience.

7. Shaken – The Actors Centre (streamed) – 17 November
The closing scene is one of defiance and hope, and this complete and compassionate story has it all – covering the story from different angles, and palpably coming from the heart, this is a poignant and passionate production.

8. Les Misérables: The Staged Concert – CD and DVD release – November
As ever, it’s heavy-going stuff, but these are musical numbers that soar to the sky […] the CD and DVD are worthy additions to your musical theatre recording collections.

9. Misfits – Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch (streamed) – 14 November
Steadily paced, the production flits between the various stories, which both individually and collectively become grittier with every layer of detail piled on. These are all working class stories given centre stage, the theatrical equivalent of an LS Lowry (1887-1976) painting in its depiction of the world of ordinary people who one might encounter on the train or in the supermarket.

10. After the Tempest – University of West London (streamed) – 17 June
There’s a decent amount of food for thought in this production, as contemporary for our times as The Tempest was for Shakespeare’s. Bucking the trend for new plays to be one-act, no-interval affairs, this is a confident and assured piece of theatre in such an uncertain and fearful world.

Terry Eastham
Well, what a year it has been,  Like many people, there is a part of my mind that just wants to forget 2020 and pretend this year hasn’t happened. But, I started looking at my theatrical reviews of the year and realised if we cancelled the year, then we would miss some absolute corkers. So here, is my top 5 for 2020:

No 5 – Candy at King’s Head Theatre
Tim Fraser’s show about Will (Michael Waller), a man who falls in love with the wrong person was an amazing start to the year. Presented as a monologue, we followed Will’s story the opening, where he discusses the reality or not of ‘love at first sight’ through to the reality of waking from a dream. A combination of excellent writing and a superb delivery really made this a show to watch.

No 4 -Chaplin: Birth of a Tramp at Jack Studio Theatre
A visit to one of my favourite fringe theatres for this detailed look at the early life of ‘the little tramp’.  Ross McGregor is an obvious Chaplin aficionado, and the play was a real labour of love in its portrayal of Charlie’s youth. The young Chaplin was played by Lucy Ioannou, who in a nod to the genius of the real man, was silent throughout conveying everything Charlie experienced and felt by movement and expression alone. A fascinating show that sent me off to YouTube to research the son of Southwark for myself.

No 3 – Moment of Grace written by Bren Gosling
As theatre moved online during the lockdown and beyond, creatives had to be more – well creative – in getting their stories out to audiences, and this production was my favourite of the online shows I saw. Ben Gosling’s story of the visit of Princess Diana to an AIDS ward.  Told as a series of intermingled monologues, the production pulled no punches on the devastating destruction of people and ideals that the AIDS crisis caused. The online element added to the story as we, the audience, were able to really get close to the performer in a way that is rarely achieved in a conventional theatre. In my review, I mention Luke Dayhill’s eyes which added such believability to his portrayal of AIDS sufferer Andrew.  Such a wonderful example of using technology to convey a story.

No 2 -Opera Undone: Tosca and La Boheme at Trafalgar Studios 2
I love opera. In fact, I would like to review more of it if I could. However, I am no opera aficionado, and I am not really able to delve too heavily in the technical aspects of an operatic performance.  One of my pet hates about opera is the elitist aura that often surrounds it. I have friends that will happily go and see a musical but would never go to an opera, as it ‘isn’t for people like them’. However, Adam Spreadbury-Maher and David Eaton have really kicked this idea into touch with this production. Each opera is condensed to one hour and sung in English, making it very accessible and highly enjoyable. I would heartily recommend the Opera undone shows for both opera virgins and seasoned opera-goers alike.

No 1 – Dad’s Army Radio Show at The British Library
The last day in January saw me taking my first trip to the British Library for this absolutely awesome show. Two astoundingly talented actors – David Benson and Jack Lane – have taken Jimmy Perry and David Croft’s writing and adapted it to make a wonderful two-hander with every character that we know and love from the TV series on the stage bringing the stories to life in wonderful style.  But, and this is the important point, not only were the voices there but the characteristics of Mainwaring, Wilson, Jones, Pike, Fraser et al were all there as well. This was performance at its absolute best and both David and Jack need to be applauded for giving me my stand-out theatrical memory of 2020.

Amanda Reynolds

Dear Evan Hansen at Noel Coward Theatre – such emotional storytelling. The songs are beautiful and the story is something which is so meaningful to so many people. Issues with self-confidence, grief, anxiety and social media pressures affect so many people and this musical highlights the importance of being yourself and honest with yourself. Of course, the cast are also phenomenal too!

Jesus Christ Superstar at Regent’s Park Theatre – from the very opening notes to the cast entering stage with masks this socially distanced version of the hit musical was outstanding. It truly showed that musicals and the theatre are so viable and important. Tears aplenty from cast and audience members alike. A sign that the theatre industry can work together and come back from this year of uncertainty.

The Last Five Years at Southwark Playhouse – always a gorgeous story but the clever use of a revolve and in the round seating really engaged the audience. But more importantly, this was one of the first indoor theatre shows to manage to safely open again in September. In-person and streamed online the show really captured the journey of the two characters, so in love and yet so apart at times.

Joseph Winer
Fairview at the Young Vic – Critics struggled to write about Jackie Sibblies Drury’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play because it’s practically impossible to do so without giving it away. This really is one I will never forget, taking content-meets-form to the extreme in a radical deconstruction of power and the structures of racism

WORK.txt at Vault Festival – A show performed entirely by the audience, exploring and criticising the relationship between art, work and capitalism, then innovatively adapted as work_from_home becoming still to-date the most exciting piece of online performance I’ve seen

Blindness at the Donmar Warehouse – A gripping edge-of-your-seat sound instillation, Juliet Stevenson’s vocal performance of Simon Stephens thrilling text, married with binaural sound design by Ben and Max Ringham, managed to capture all the tensions of an “unimaginable” global pandemic with nail-biting storytelling and immersion

Crave at Chichester Festival Theatre – Tinuke Craig’s powerful staging of Sarah Kane’s tragic play was a thing of despair and hope, the characters of Kane’s text unable to touch, escape or take a pause from their isolated travelators, brutally capturing the global moment

You Stupid Darkness! at the Southwark Playhouse – Sam Steiner has a real knack for creating high-stake worlds where the context is fleshed out without ever need for much explanation; one of the finest pieces of writing I’d seen in ages, played out with heaps of gentle intimacy and humour in a production directed by Jamies Grieve.

Karen Pond
I’ve only seen one production live this year, Sleepless at the Troubadour, Wembley Park. I thought it was a well-written production with a great score which was well performed by all the cast.

Peter Yates
1. MUSIK by Jonathan Harvey and Pet Shop Boys @ Leicester Square Theatre
Irreverent, raucous, belligerent Frances Barber blows the audience away with her astonishing one-person tour de force.

2. The Incident Room by Olivia Hirst and David Byrne @ New Diorama Theatre.
Intensely gripping police drama about the hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper – given added piquancy with Sutcliffe’s death this year. Brilliantly performed.

3. The Spine by Nathan Powell Camden People’s Theatre.
A vibrant, kinetic, pulsating and uber-energetic show blowing the lid off the life of football apprentices.

Mary Beer

1. Leopoldstadt – Wyndham’s Theatre
2. Endgame – Old Vic
3. Flying Lovers of Vitebsk (online) Knee High & Bristol Old Vic
4. (tied) On Blueberry Hill – Trafalgar Studios and Beat the Devil – Bridge Theatre
5. Faustus that Damned Woman – Lyric Hammersmith
6. Pippin – Garden Theatre at the Eagle Pub
7. Merry Wives of Windsor – outdoor at the Maltings Festival, St Albans
8. Rage of Narcissus – Pleasance Courtyard
9. Frostbite: Who Pinched My Muff – Garden Theatre at the Eagle Pub
10. Up, Up, Up and Away – Creation Theatre Via Zoom

A year of surprises, setbacks and sheer determination leading to some impressive innovation; if you told me a year ago that 20% of my top picks would be delivered via digital platforms, I’d have said you were mad. I was lucky enough in 2020 to have seen more than 10 live (in-person) theatrical performances but, well this year has been one that has forced changes to my perspective in multiple ways – resulting in some, but not all, of my opinions to shift. Am I revealing myself as a traditionalist that my top two shows of 2020 are plays by Stoppard and Beckett delivered on proscenium stages in big-name theatres with superstars at the helm or in the footlights? Well, maybe or perhaps I’m just a sucker for super-saturation by talent and let’s face it, the play’s the thing. But I was also shaken out of anti-streaming resentments and prejudices by the glorious staging by Emma Rice of The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk as well as charmed and impressed by the canny innovation in interactive children’s theatre by Creation Theatre’s Up, Up, Up and Away. When a new platform felt supplemental rather than substitutional, my sad heart of viral solitude beat just a little happier with not just hope for the other side, but gratitude for the present.

Going big outdoors with social distancing at the Matings Festival, was a delight and more than making-do. Lambco productions expertise in taking big shows like Pippin or their own adult Panto, Frostbite, and putting them on as an intimate chamber experience in Vauxhall’s Eagle Pub’s Garden Theatre actually gave me experiences I wanted to repeat – pandemic or not.

End-of-year reflections can also mean re-evaluation, and even though I had many fine pre-pandemic professional productions to consider, Rage of Narcissus at the Pleasance Courtyard has grown on me and remains memorable. If it were running again, I’d return to see it a second time.

Without realising it, half my top shows of 2020 are pre-pandemic stagings and half were mounted with social distancing and other obstacles in mind. With the exception of Patrick Marber’s staging of Leopoldstadt, I noticed that nearly all the pre-pandemic productions featured small enough casts that perhaps they could return adapted for whatever safety restrictions we face next year. (Although my prayers are for rapid vaccination and packed houses for the prosperity of players, producers and the wider theatrical economy.)

I’ve cheated my ‘top ten’ by sneaking in 11 winners by awarding a joint 4th place to both Sebastian Barry’s On Blueberry Hill and David Hare’s Covid-memoir Beat the Devil. The Irish two-hander set in detention and the searing, topical one-man return to live theatre made pitch-perfect by Ralph Fiennes’ performance and Nicholas Hytner’s direction rather bookend my experience of the year: the last show I saw and the first (indoor) one to which I returned. But it’s not just about me getting out and about: both gave me ideas, laughs and great admiration for the generations of talent and craft that fought so hard to profit and please us this year. Thank you!

Iris Theatre’s The Snow Queen: An Online, Storytelling Adventure, an interactive Christmas show using innovative new technology by loom.ai.

Stories get delivered to Holly’s door and then…she tells them. Easy! Right? Except today a new story has been delivered but it’s freezing cold, so cold in fact that Holly can’t even open the pages. She’s going to need a bit of help with this one…and that’s where you come in!

From the comfort of your home, join Holly this Christmas for a magical, snow-filled adventure. Clap your hands, make some magic and join in with the whole family, wherever they are in the world.

Our Q&A with Leda Douglas
Q: Can you tell us about The Snow Queen: An Online, Storytelling Adventure?
Leda: Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale, “The Snow Queen” has been very cleverly adapted by our writer and director Natasha Rickman into a family Christmas show for the digital realm (aka Zoom!). It features special effects, 3D animations and even puppets. There’ll also be plenty of opportunities to get involved and talk to characters to help continue the story.

Q: You play the part of Holly – can you tell us about her and her story?
Leda: Holly is the narrator and trusted friend to Pip. She and Pip love creating stories from their laboratory and sharing them with an audience, especially Pip! On this occasion, they create the story of The Snow Queen which takes them on a quest to free a cursed boy from the captivity of the Snow Queen. Along the way, they’ll encounter many characters: robbers, princesses and of course the Snow Queen herself (it’s probably worth mentioning I’ll be playing all of them).

Q: What challenges have you had – and will you have – with this production being live on Zoom?
Leda: Well I’ve done a few productions now via Zoom and recognise what a fantastic playing space it can be. Though you’re limited to a screen there are so many ways you can create an engaging story using digital tricks and a creative team, which this production certainly does. It’ll be my first time juggling so many characters in one performance so I expect that to be a challenge, but I can always just turn my computer off (just kidding I won’t do that! Or will I..? No really I won’t!).

Q: How does this differ from a stage production?
Leda: There are unique factors to consider as you won’t suddenly freeze or disappear because of a poor internet connection on stage. There’s also a lot more working from home so after-show drinks or some sort of cooldown is essential, cuz you know… closing your laptop is a weird way to end a show.

Q: Why should everyone book to see the show?
Leda: It’s a fresh take on a Christmas show that’ll surprise and hopefully impress you using new technology and an entirely new platform. It’s also just good ol’ fun as it’ll get you moving, giggling and in the mood for Christmas.

*****

LISTINGS
THE SNOW QUEEN: AN ONLINE, STORYTELLING ADVENTURE
Online (via Zoom)
19th – 26th December 2020
Press performance: Sunday 20th December at 2pm
Box Office: https://iristheatre.ticketsolve.com/shows
Ticket prices: £20 per device
Age recommended: 4+