Oliver Reese's fascinating new production stages self-destructive masculinity spirally increasingly out of control. In this one-man show, we see a man in a full-blown crisis after going through an inevitable divorce. Scott McClanahan (Jonathan Slinger) slips, seamlessly, onto the stage, he stands before a microphone on a fairly empty stage, save a few suggestions of a kitchen. His story is framed as a dysfunctional standup routine, opening with him boasting of his drunk driving rampage, … [Read more...]

The great Frank McGuinness turns his hand to the absurd in this new, farcical exploration of friendship and death. In Dinner With Groucho, everything and nothing becomes clear, in a classically absurdist play where very little happens and yet everything is contemplated. McGuiness's new play is written with wit, and linguistic dexterity, it fluidly taps into some of the core brilliance of absurdism. The essential premise is suitably ridiculous, Groucho Marx and T.S. Elliot are having … [Read more...]

The Last Laugh by Richard Harris is a classically British satirical reflection on the nature of comedy. This new production grasps the fundamental, surface-level elements of Harris' writing, but leaves a little on the table in terms of a more nuanced exploration of comedy. The play is very simple in premise and plot, a playwright has to get the approval of the censorship office to have his play put on. The Writer (Matt Wake) is young, sprightly and thinks he knows his stuff about comedy, … [Read more...]

Much Ado is about as classic as a Shakespearean comedy gets, there’s mistaken identity, devious plots, and faked death. Robert Hastie’s new production puts accessibility front and centre, incorporating BSL and captioning from start to finish. We look in on a Scandinavian-style dining room behind glass sliding windows, which opens onto a clearing in a forest where much of our action takes place. This aggressively modernized adaptation kicks off with a lengthy introduction in contemporary … [Read more...]

A somewhat mixed bag of pieces, Reboot Festival offers new writers the opportunity to try out very early versions of pieces they are working on. It is great that there are opportunities for those new to the industry, unfortunately, the quality was lacking in this collection of scenes. The evening was comprised of six short pieces made by a variety of different writers and directors. While these are pieces early in their development, they left a lot to be desired in the overall quality of the … [Read more...]

Unease stirs in the audience as George Orwell’s classic political allegory rings as uncomfortably true as ever. This new adaptation brings life and laughter to an eventually damning tale of political corruption, greed and exploitation. Animal Farm tells the story of a revolution against an oppressive, exploitative farmer to establish a new equal society for the animals on the farm. Over time, the revolution is exploited for personal gain by a few shrewd individuals who use the revolution … [Read more...]

Jules and Juniper are meant to be together, and although they love each other, it's not that simple. In this new transfer from the Vaults Festival, we are taken through the oft' troubled relationship between two young queer women. When Jules and Juniper meet, it is mortifyingly awkward and, at the same time, truly charming. While Juniper has always been queer; the possibility of being queer had never even occurred to Jules. That all changed in a nightclub when the two met and that special … [Read more...]