Shit-faced Showtime: Oliver with a Twist continues at the Leicester Square Theatre, London until 12 April 2019. Leicester Square, Victorian squalor, musicals, and one very inebriated performer – Shit-faced Showtime is making waves with its brave (and boozey) concept. Oliver with a Twist is the recent gin-soaked adventure and although the hilarity of the concept is a constant, the overall ...
Kicking off the fiftieth-anniversary production, Hair grooves into the night as the audience is left breathless, entertained and flummoxed. This musical whirlwind touches ground in the New Wimbledon Theatre in the first leg of its UK tour. With its many historical layers (sorry, first and last hair joke), many people have a connection to the revolutionary musical. Transferring from a ...
Julian Schnabel’s biopic At Eternity’s Gate explores Vincent van Gogh’s time in the southern French town of Arles and Auvers-sur-Oise, his mental illness and eventual death (not really a spoiler). Although the film is chocked full of heavy dialogue and artistic cinematic magic the whole journey is at an incredibly slow pace. Almost, some would say, like watching paint dry ...
Managing to make Black Swan look like a bit of fluff, The White Crow charts the true story of Rudolf Nureyev and his defection to the West – from his early life of poverty in eastern Russia to the darling of high society as arguably the 20th century’s most iconic male ballet star. Directed by Ralph Fiennes (who also plays ...
Shakespeare’s tale of deceit and malice is not an easy one to stage. Even with an interesting re-contextualisation set in the British Raj in 1919, the production at the Union Theatre fails to fully own this mammoth play. The ‘green-eyed monster’ and the quintessential Machiavellian baddie Iago provide enough juice, drama, and betrayal to make a real meal out of. ...
A riotous romp with royals in this electric parody of Netflix series The Crown somehow manages to surpass the original. Irreverent, hilarious and childishly slapstick, the show provokes a grin that will make your mouth ache. We’re introduced to down at heel actress Beth Buckingham (Rosie Holt) and her manager/windows salesman Stanley Diamond (Brendan Murphy) as they try unsuccessfully to ...
So much of our lives and even more of our relationships are spent in bed, not just having sex but everything else. Undetectable follows the relationship of Bradley and Lex as they battle their pasts, presents and futures. In this world premiere at the King Head, the depiction and attitude towards nudity is refreshingly brave. In a relationship between two ...
To celebrate its 10-year anniversary, theatre company OperaUpClose is staging Gaetano Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda – or Mary, Queen of Scots in English – in London’s last Elizabethan church. Through the exciting proxemics, clever dramatic choices and some raw talent, the show and its setting combine to create a magical evening of opera. Site-specific shows normally send a shudder down my ...
Last night was momentous, not just within the world of experimental dance, but beyond. Pina Bausch’s legendary company, Tanztheater Wuppertal, debuted their first two international productions with new directors since their founder tragically died in 2009. Under the direction of Alan Lucien Øyen, we are ushered into a new era for the company, mourning the loss of Bausch but working ...
I wanted to love this show so much, because of the subject matter. And certainly, the bravery of real Vicky in the hateful climate of the 80s, and the support she received in her journey is stirring stuff! But a play is not comprised of themes alone, it is writing, acting, lighting, directing and a host of infinitesimally small things. ...