Looking at Philip Ridley’s script for Vincent River, the first page and a half is dispensed with altogether in this production, plunging the audience directly into the dialogue, at quite a fast pace, which only gets faster before a long monologue by Davey (Thomas Mahy). In this monologue, the events of the show’s off-stage critical incident (which happened some weeks before the evening in which the play is set) are recounted in a manner that I can only describe as a verbal version of projectile … [Read more...]
Trafalgar Studios London Reviews & News - Book Tickets Online
Trafalgar Studios
Venue and Travel Information
Nearest Tube: Charing Cross
Tube Lines: Bakerloo, Northern
Directions from nearest tube: Turn left on the main road Strand. Follow Trafalgar Square around onto Whitehall and the theatre’s on your right.
Railway Station: Charing Cross
Within Congestion Zone: Yes
Venue Facilities: Air conditioned, Bar, Infrared hearing loop, Toilets
Trafalgar Studios London: Formerly the Whitehall Theatre, Trafalgar Studios is now two modern theatre studios in one building close to Trafalgar Square in the West End. Architects Tim Foster and John Muir have created two new intimate and dynamic theatre studios that has injected vibrancy and excitement into the venue. The Trafalgar Studios opened with the RSC’s production of Othello, which was followed by the Watermill Theatre’s acclaimed production of Sweeney Todd.
The Whitehall theatre originally opened in 1930 with a transfer of The Way to Treat a Woman by Walter Hackett (who was also the theatre’s licensee). He presented several more very successful plays of his own until leaving in 1934. The theatre continued to build its reputation for popular modern comedies throughout the 1930s and is today at the forefront of West End theatre.
During the war this tried and tested formula was rejected in favour of revue shows, which were very popular elsewhere in the West End. In 1942 The Whitehall Follies was launched, featuring a non-stop performance by Phyllis Dixey, and audiences flocked in, mostly due to the fact that the celebrated Miss Dixey was the first stripper in the West End! In the 1980s under Ian B Albery, there was extensive refurbishment to match the new regime of high-quality theatre. Many of the building’s unique art deco features were retained, and the Whitehall reopened with a successful revival of J B Priestley’s When We are Married.
Highlights of the late eighties and early nineties include Run for Your Wife, Alan Ayckbourn’s Absurd Person Singular and A Tribute to the Blues Brothers. Other popular productions include Cooking With Elvis starring Frank Skinner, Only the Lonely, Trainspotting and John Godber’s Bouncers. The theatre has also played host to radio and television shows and live theatre running concurrently.
Casting Announced for Actually by Anna Ziegler at Trafalgar Studios
In our age of fake news, victim shaming and #metoo; and hot on the heels of recent documentaries It Happened One Night (Louis Theroux/ BBC) and Sex on Trial (Channel 4), Actually is an urgent exploration into our need for an absolute truth when faced with opposing versions; can we ever truly know what happened between two people behind closed doors? Amber and Tom hook up at a party at their elite American university and spend the night together. They agree on the drinking, they agree on the … [Read more...]
Education, Education, Education at Trafalgar Studios
Acclaimed theatre company The Wardrobe Ensemble, in co-production with Royal & Derngate, Northampton and Shoreditch Town Hall, will bring The Scotsman Fringe First Award and The Stage Edinburgh Award-winning, smash-hit production Education, Education, Education to London’s West End this summer. “We in Germany, and Europe, have been watching somewhat envious as your country’s been undergoing a resurrection… Your newfound pride in your culture and your heritage… It’s so wonderful to see a … [Read more...]
Scary Bikers at Trafalgar Studios | Review
One might wonder what cycling and Brexit have in common; well, truth be told, not a lot - but both are intimately woven into the fabric of John Godber’s latest endeavour, Scary Bikers. This two-hander, written, directed and starring Godber himself, alongside Jane Thornton, drills down to the heart of the decision most Yorkshire-dwelling folk took to vote leave in the EU Referendum, explored through the guise of a cycling trip around Europe. Jam-packed with gags and emotion, Scary Bikers - … [Read more...]
The Fishermen at Trafalgar Studios 2 – from 3rd September 2019
Following a Stage Award-winning run at Edinburgh Festival Fringe and two sold-out runs at the Arcola, New Perspectives’ adaptation of the Booker Prize-nominated novel by Chigozie Obioma will receive a West End transfer in September 2019. Gbolahan Obisesan has adapted the story of four brothers torn apart by a prophecy. In a small Nigerian town, Ben and Obembe slip away to fish at a forbidden river along with their two older brothers. Risking the wrath of their father, who expects great things of … [Read more...]
Actually Tickets London Trafalgar Studios
Amber and Tom hook up at a party at their elite American university and spend the night together. They agree on the drinking, they agree on the attraction, but what actually happened between them? With wit and urgency, Actually investigates the highly charged topic of sexual consent, the complex intersection of race and gender politics, our crippling desire to fit in, and the three sides to every story. "Undeniably funny, poignant and profound" New York Magazine "Gripping. Beautifully … [Read more...]
A Hundred Words for Snow at Trafalgar Studios | Review
What an absolute pleasure, this International Women’s Day, to be writing a review of such a female-driven show. A Hundred Words for Snow at Trafalgar Studios is written by Tatty Hennessy, directed by Lucy Jane Atkinson and performed by Gemma Barnett. It follows Rory, a teenage girl who has abruptly lost her father, a geography teacher, who dreamed of being an explorer. In an old-fashioned sense of the term - following in the footsteps of Shackleton and Nansen. In the wake of all these historical … [Read more...]