Reviews of Plays in London West End and Off West End

An increasing amount of soil gradually covers the stage in The Sublet Next To Heaven, which sees the show’s narrator, Madeleine Accalia, speak only briefly in the first person, revealing herself as ‘B’. For the rest of the performance, she’s describing the life and times of John and Lara (or is it Lara and John?), whose paths cross, in more ways than one, in Brighton’s Preston Park. There are other characters, too, such as their respective dogs, called Pauline and Sally (assuming I’ve recalled … [Read more...]

Sally Abbott’s I Think We Are Alone is a simple, naturalistic and rather beautiful play about feelings and families. Refreshingly, it does not attempt to subvert theatrical forms nor beguile with meta-philosophical concepts. Tightly plotted and pacey, it takes us through six intertwined lives and emotions at key moments of love, loss and redemption. Although this play is enacted via a series of vignettes that create a sense of swirling montage of human bonds and interactions, rather than in a … [Read more...]

As a Londoner born and bred I like to visit new arts venues and marvel at the extraordinary transformations that are happening all over this great city. The new Riverside Studios which opened in October 2019 take up the entire ground floor of a residential apartment block facing the Thames fifty metres from Hammersmith Bridge. A large foyer doubles as an art gallery, leading off are two theatres, two cinemas, a cafe, a restaurant, a free cloakroom and plenty of toilets. A wonderful addition to … [Read more...]

This isn’t the first Lazarus Theatre Company production to go for lots of shiny confetti, stage debris and, well, partial nudity. This time around the debris took the form of many, many sheets of white paper that ended up strewn across the entire stage, seemingly indicative of chaos and disorder. It is rather too unkind, however, to portray this is a metaphor for the production itself, even if the delivery of Shakespeare’s script doesn’t quite match the stunning visual effects. A conscious … [Read more...]

I feel quite honoured to be attending the professional debut of this evening’s cast who are all alumni of the Rose Youth Theatre. Ciaran McConville, the former Director of Learning and Participation at the Rose Theatre has updated Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’ with references to modern technology that brings the story right up to date but remains just as terrifying. Philip Connolly’s set is a tangled mass of pipes, wires, cobwebs and rags and so much smoke that I was surprised the smoke … [Read more...]

Normal is one of those words that can be both a compliment and an insult. It's something we all dread being called by secretly strive for - whatever we tell everyone else. It's something that has suddenly become a possibility for the young couple at the heart of Oakley Flanagan’s new play This Queer House at the Vault Festival. In fact, the show starts off rather conventionally with queer couple, non-binary Oli (Liv Ello) and lesbian Leah (Humaira Iqbal) inheriting a London house thanks to … [Read more...]

Stumbling around in the dark I found myself at the Stage Door of Camden People’s Theatre and was astonished to find a large skip filled with empty energy drink bottles. Someone must be high on ener-drenaline I mused. As the lights came up on the show I found out who. This vibrant, kinetic, pulsating and uber-energetic show keeps us on the edge of our seats throughout and I defy anyone to watch it and not leave the theatre re-vitalised and, well, energised. There’s some depressing stuff to … [Read more...]