Some evenings as a theatre reviewer you have to step into a 1970s mental hospital and experience the events as they unfold, as part of the staff. Upon entering the old church in Canning Town, we were asked to go through the right or left doors, not knowing what that meant. We chose left, were given lanyards and instruction, we were now junior doctors being shown the ropes before the patients were led into the room, a collection that was both casts and fellow audience members. What followed … [Read more...]
Kiki’s Delivery Service at Southwark Playhouse – Review
Kiki’s Delivery Service is most commonly known as a 1989 animated film produced by the acclaimed Studio Ghibli, which was an adaptation of the 1985 novel by Eiko Kadono. The novel has now been adapted again as a play by Jessica Sian at Southwark Playhouse, directed by Kate Hewitt. Having previously seen the Southwark Playhouse’s excellent production of Howl’s Moving Castle, another novel previously given the Studio Ghibli treatment, expectations were high for this production. The plot is … [Read more...]
In Love and Warcraft at Theatre N16 – Review
What’s the most used tropes about people who play video games, and nerds in general? That they are overweight, socially awkward virgins who live in their parents’ basements. As a lifelong female nerd, I got really excited when I saw the poster for In Love and Warcraft, and I got even more excited when I heard it was written by a woman and with a female lead. Awesome! I was hoping for a more nuanced look at gaming and women’s relationship to gaming, and that’s not what I got. Instead, In Love … [Read more...]
Review of Theatre Utopia’s Possibilities at Theatre N16
Life is a series of moments. Some good, some bad. Some tragically hilarious. In Possibilities, a new play written by Jamal Chong, you get to experience a wide selection of moments between a man and a woman, from meeting after years apart, zig-zagging across their past together until we, at last, see their first meeting. A man and a woman are indeed what we encounter when we enter the theatre, although they have their back to us, moving slowly to the back curtain where they start turning on … [Read more...]
Consequences and The Book at The Space – Review
KinkyFish presents two plays by upcoming playwright Duncan Battman in this double bill of Consequences and The Book. Does a confession of a murder matter if everyone affected by it is dead, including the murderer? That’s the question Consequences seem to ask. Two policemen discover a dead body that is already decomposing, and find a suicide note in the fridge which outlines a murder that the dead man Norman committed 15 years ago. When we enter the space, Norman is milling around the stage by … [Read more...]
Review of You Tweet My Face Space at Theatre N16
What would it be like if you could have a conversation with the social media you use every day? What if Facebook threw you a party, Snapchat burst into the room to give you a hug and run away, and Farmville popped round to give you grief about your dying crop? The answer to this and many more questions you never knew you had is explored in You Tweet My Face Space. David is in trouble with his girlfriend Charlotte after a picture of a girl kissing him appears on Instagram and Facebook. After … [Read more...]
Review of How To Keep An Alien by Sonya Kelly at Soho Theatre
A fling with an alien becomes a thing with an alien becomes a ring with an alien. Upstairs at Soho Theatre, Sonya Kelly takes us through the story of a love affair that starts during a rehearsal process of a play she’s not enjoying working in, and doesn't want the affair to end just because one of them has to go back to Australia because her visa has run out. As the relationship blossoms, the pair have to face the Irish immigration authorities for the Australian, Kate, to get a permanent visa so … [Read more...]