Union Theatre One of the most tragic and emblematic women of the 1960s, Janis Joplin holds a piece of many people’s hearts. Wild and ferociously talented, she and her era are hard to re-create at the best of times, never mind in the tunnels in Southwark. Collette Cooper becomes the superstar but is hindered along the journey. Overdosing at 27, ...
London Wonderground An energetic, crowd-pleasing night at the boozer, celebrating beer and male friendship. You had me at free booze! Welcome to The Jungle, a pub, inside the upside-down purple cow situated in a fairground in West Brompton. Bet everything is making sense now, isn’t it? Let me elaborate. The Underbelly Festival, normally hugging the river at the South Bank, has spread like ...
Barbican ‘Bobbing on the waves of theatrical genius’ Whether it be economic depression or a global pandemic, don’t we all just want to sail away and fall in love? Cole Porter’s classic musical Anything Goes, which premiered in 1934, runs with the idea and heads straight off into the sunset. The acidic wit and musical sharpness transports this nautical romp into ...
Arcola Outside “Willkommen! Madame and monsieur, ladies and gents”. Under the glowering sky we are dragged back to the Weimer Republic and the act of resistance. But the real question is, are we? William Ludwig, looking a little like a very stylish Uncle Fester has a defined stage presence. Eyes wide, and expansive gestures he dives straight into his evening of song and ...
Arcola Outside ‘A riotously good show’ Reminiscent of the Italian piazzas where the style of commedia dell’arte spawned 500 years ago, the new spiegeltent of the Arcola Theatre restages the 18th-century classic, The Game of Love and Chance. Royalty, romance, and the classic rotating doors promise an evening of high class and earthy humour. Pierre de Marivaux’s 1730s play is hustled (rather ...
St Paul’s Church Covent Garden Howling at the moooooon, while under the slowly darkening sky, as a shy satellite peaks out is unique. Blend in some gorgeous vocal harmonies, a journey of self discovery and two talented actors and you my friend have a hit. Settling among the gently swaying flowers of the Actors Church in Covent Garden, the Iris ...
Old Red Lion Theatre A gripping, emotional reflection on the theatre industry, with clever scripting and technically impressive staging Inside London’s ‘oldest’ pub, a surprisingly large blackbox theatre rumbles with ominous music and flickering projected shadows. An evening of emotional turmoil and professional questioning is in store, as long as you’re fine with the smell of feet (maybe it’s the ...
‘Overly ambitious but spirited’ The things I’ll do for theatre are many and at times ludicrous. But braving a particularly wet and windy May evening to sit in a garden in Hoxton and watch an hour-long play is up there for the most dedicated. The effort was worth it in many ways, although my sodden feet might beg to differ. ...
Visit an almost 2000-year-old, outdoor theatre, in June? What could possibly go wrong? The Maltings Theatre’s ambitious adaptation of Peter Pan set in the mossy ruins of the Roman Theatre gets you smiling, even through the rain. You cannot get a better pedigree than the Roman Theatre in Verulamium (St Albans). Being one of the first in England and unique in its ...
‘A pleasant if not particularly original experience’ Dramatising the popular German fairytale by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, new musical The Sorcerer’s Apprentice has colour, magic, and sentimentality exploding around the screen. But do the flashes, fire, and saturated lighting constitute an effect musical? The story heavily fleshes out Goethe’s poem, recontextualising it (if rather poorly) to the mythical, Nordic world of Midgard, ...