The thing about nameless characters in plays is that it can become difficult to feel any sort of connection with them as the show progresses. Here, in Insignificance, we have The Actress (Alice Bailey Johnson), The Professor (Simon Rouse), The Senator (Tom Mannion) and The Ball Player (Oliver Hembrough). Except there was no need to refer back to the press release to figure out these were meant to be Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962), Albert Einstein (1879-1955), Joseph McCarthy (1908-1957) and Joe … [Read more...]
Arcola Theatre Off West End London E8 3DL
Arcola presents major artists alongside cutting-edge work from some of the most exciting emerging companies.
Arcola has been a launch pad for artists including Rebecca Lenkiewicz and Alecky Blythe (who had their first plays produced here), Lyndsey Turner, Lucy Kirkwood and Joe Sims.
World-renowned playwrights including Bonnie Greer, Frank McGuinness and Sam Shepard have premiered work at Arcola.
Arcola’s programme is locally engaged and internationally minded. They 'believe that diversity makes for better art, and for a more flourishing arts scene.'
Every year through ArcolaLAB, the Arcola 'provide 26 weeks of free rehearsal space to emerging theatre-makers and artists of colour'.
Two-thirds of the productions in the Arcola's last season 'were led by women as writers, directors and producers, and one-third of our productions are led by diverse artists.'
Arcola Theatre
24 Ashwin Street, Dalston,
London, E8 3DL
https://www.arcolatheatre.com/
The Arcola Theatre is just 2 minutes’ walk from both Dalston Kingsland and Dalston Junction stations, on the London Overground.
Review of All The Little Lights at the Arcola Theatre
Jane Upton, joint-winner of the George Devine Award for 'most promising playwright' with All The Little Lights in 2016, certainly has a flair for drawing characters and presenting urgent, topical issues in a beautiful and darkly humorous light. After touring in the spring earlier this year, All The Little Lights receives its London premiere at the Arcola Theatre, detailing how former best friends Joanne and Lisa redefine their new friendship given the drastic change in their … [Read more...]
Full cast announcement for #HashtagLightie at Arcola Theatre
Ella is popular, addicted to social media, Queen of the Selfie, and mixed race. Her thriving YouTube channel has makeup tips, opinions, and videos of her boisterous family. But after one of her videos goes viral, Ella finds herself in the centre of a social media storm that leads to a family meltdown. With her identity and perception of beauty challenged, can Ella promote self-love without fueling hate? Following a sell-out weeks run #Hashtag Lightie returns to the Arcola for a full run with … [Read more...]
Review of Thebes Land at the Arcola Theatre
It’s rare enough to encounter a non-English play in translation, and Thebes Land at the Arcola Theatre is an experience not to be missed. A postmodern riff on the theme of patricide, the dark and violent heart of the play is revealed in a clever manner, with moments of real lightness threaded into this ominous subject. Martin (Alex Austin) is introduced as the killer, enclosed in a forebodingly sparse cage structure, supposedly there for our safety. Our narrator and guide, T (Trevor White), is a … [Read more...]
Arcola Theatre announces 2017 Grimeborn Opera Festival
Arcola Theatre announces the 2017 Grimeborn Opera Festival including The Marriage of Kim K- The Kim Kardashian musical. See opera differently at Grimeborn. 'East London's ... irreverent and influential festival of new opera' (Time Out) is back for its 11th year with 14 exciting productions. Rarely-performed pieces. Reinvigorated classics. Brand new works from some of the UK’s most exciting up-and-coming artists and companies. Tickets range from £7 to £22. Whether it’s your first or … [Read more...]
Review of Combustion at the Arcola Theatre
Asif Khan will be familiar to London audiences primarily as an actor, but in Combustion, he proves to be as adept a playwright as a performer. With this new work, he joins a small but growing canon of writers offering a counter-narrative to an increasingly shrill chorus of Islamaphobic and anti-Muslim rhetoric. Fundamentally, the play grapples with what has become a defining feature of the British Muslim experience: complicity. Does silence confirm your collusion? Does speaking up qualify your … [Read more...]
Review of The Pulverised at the Arcola Theatre
There are some minor characters that are named in The Pulverised, which, as a title such as this suggests, doesn’t exactly end with the sheer jollity and exhilaration of 42nd Street. But the major ones as listed in the programme are known, in no particular order, as Factory Worker, Shanghai (Rebecca Boey), Quality Assurance of Subcontractors Manager, Lyon (Richard Corgan), Call Centre Team Leader, Dakar (Solomon Israel) and Research and Development Engineer, Bucharest (Kate Miles). It may be a … [Read more...]