BUZZ! One of the questions I am sometimes asked about shows is whether there is one particular thing, good or bad, that stands out about a production, and will linger in my long term memory. BUZZ! This production of Hotel for Criminals likes to have a highly irritating buzzing noise, too loud and too long, to indicate a scene change. BUZZ! It got to the point where I began to dread the ending of musical numbers because of the deafening buzz that would inevitably … [Read more...]

Violent gun massacres in the United States are nothing new. Barely a month goes by without some tragedy happening where someone decides that they wish to go out in a blaze of glory by shooting colleagues/friends/random strangers and then themselves. Each event is horrific in its own right but even for an old cynic like me, the horror takes on a new level when children are involved. So it is with The Amish Project presented at the New Wimbledon Studio by the Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota … [Read more...]

At least the uncomfortably and unseasonably warm weather on the opening night of Keep Dancing at the New Wimbledon Theatre complemented the heat of the sizzling performance. Clearly as much of the available budget has been spent on the show itself: when I was handed a programme, it consisted of a single piece of A4 paper with a barely readable list of credits. As an indication of the sheer influence on British dance on recent years, both principals and the ‘guest stars’ are … [Read more...]

The New Wimbledon Theatre continues a run of quality productions at its Studio theatre with Blown Youth. Despite not knowing what to expect, I was quickly impressed by this new play by Dipika Guha. Blown Youth follows the intertwined lives of seven young women, centring around Celia (Lydia Bakelmun), an aspiring actress who struggles with her anxiety surrounding her artistic pursuits – it’s such a strong compulsion and yet inspires such a huge degree of paralysis, a feeling I felt I knew all … [Read more...]