London Theatre Reviews - West End & Off West End

The overarching theme of ‘Escape’ in the Response monologue series seems reasonably apt for these times in which so many restrictions, albeit for public health reasons, have been imposed on freedom of movement. This rapid-fire set of short plays, twelve wrapped up in about eighty minutes or so, collectively explore various means of escape, from the sublime to the ridiculous. In Living in Fiction by Lucinda Coyle, Holly Read’s character looks back to when she imagined she was in various stories … [Read more...]

There were moments in Two Billion Beats when one wonders if the youth of today really do talk in the way in which the script says they do. Do they really say, “Mickey Ds” instead of ‘McDonald’s’? Perhaps more pertinently, I found the implied assumption that schoolgirls would necessarily take their custom there slightly odd – other food outlets are available and indeed frequented by them. But who gets their dinner from where isn’t the salient point in Two Billion Beats, a reference to what … [Read more...]

I have spent much of the last thirteen months of Lockdown (it seems a great deal longer!) in trying to avoid ZOOM meetings, but Dr Will Houstoun’s The Secret Connection is far and away the most enjoyable and intriguing 75 minutes I have spent on Zoom or anywhere else for a long time! Will Houstoun is an academic historian researching the history of conjuring, especially in the Victorian era, but his interactive show is anything but academic. Tickets are limited to 30 per performance so … [Read more...]

Diplomacy is better than brute force, though in Ali Stroker’s case it wasn’t so much consultation and dialogue that secured her roles across film, television and theatre, being the first actress who uses a wheelchair for genuine mobility reasons on Broadway (as opposed to an able-bodied actor playing a disabled character), but a naturally very warm and bubbly personality that lights up whatever room she is in. I was going to say that her positivity is infectious, which may not be wholly … [Read more...]

Winter Gardens in Blackpool is certainly a versatile venue - BBC Television’s Strictly Come Dancing, usually filmed at Elstree Studios, goes up to Blackpool for an episode each year (except, of course, when there’s a global pandemic going on), and it is the host venue of the Blackpool Dance Festival and the World Matchplay darts tournament. Previously home to various political party conferences, which now largely take place in even larger venues, the venue continues to move with the times: it … [Read more...]