Caught between Orange is the New Black and Chicago with neither the skill or charm of either, we are welcomed into the world of fictional HMP Larkhall and the musical version of the 1999-2001 TV series Bad Girls. Following the lives of the women incarcerated and the abuses of power, the scene is set for high drama. Now prison and ...
Feminism and fishnets, punk and precarious friendships, The Half Moon Shania shakes the Vaults Festival in this punk/rock opera reverberating with energy and poignancy. The show evokes youthful excitement and naivety within a dark smoky world. The rush and the barely organised chaos are infectious, but there are moments that don’t quite land as effectively as the rest of the ...
We have all had our own holidays from hell, the pressure to enjoy oneself, the sights, the sounds, the partner you never realised you disliked until it’s just you two and a totally alien culture. Cuzco explores this issue, and then some, crafting a fascinating look at the colonial legacy. This production that has translated the text from the original ...
Plunging into the detailed microcosm of a taxi firm in Middlesbrough as Margaret Thatcher dies; we are reminded of the Iron Lady’s far-reaching arm into the personal and economic relationships of a generation. Although Ishy Din’s six-hander has scope, it is rather lacking in finesse. While thematically its use of the personal vs. political debate is fascinating, the play’s overarching ...
An Agatha Christie legal drama set in a 1920’s Courtroom? You might as well watch Death on the Nile on a boat? Or Murder on the Orient Express on a train? But as someone who is sceptical of site-specific theatre, this experience blew me away. All rise for a thoroughly enjoyable show. Christie’s works are not all created equally sadly ...
“Have an éclair dear, calm yourself down,” and boy do we need calming down! With a wit, pace and intensity that almost sweeps us off our feet, the audience at the Trafalgar Studios is treated to Kevin Elyot’s first play Coming Clean. It is poignant, raunchy and heartbreaking with a heavy dose of totally justified nudity, what more could you ...
Why do we watch the same plays over and over again? Is it a testament to the innate genius of the writers? Because they cover issues constantly facing humanity? Is it a lack of imagination, perhaps? When seeing Uncle Vanya restaged at the Hampstead Theatre last night, I asked myself these questions, unfortunately, the answers aren’t very forthcoming. This piece ...
Ambitious, infectious, yet seemingly never-ending, Cuckoo is a boiling pot of talent and potential that would have to be subject to a considerable sizing-down before becoming a hit show. Touching on issues such as leaving home, teenage bullying, gender dysphoria, identity, and the rise of social media, there is a lot of wonderful subject matter in the piece, it’s just ...
Whimsical, nonsensical, and sadly lacking heart, Seussical the Musical aims to blend many of Dr. Seuss’s characters into one flashy surreal tale filled with rhyming, joy and well…more rhyming? Unfortunately what transpires on stage is a messy and rather disappointing production. But where, oh where to start? Maybe where the play and I creatively depart? (#sorrynotsorry). This is obviously billed ...
Telling the lesser-known tale of German movie star Marlene Dietrich, this cool production is both heartwarming and side-splitting. Mixing Drag, cabaret, songs and… duty? together, Peter Groom creates for us the icon anew. Dietrich: Natural Beauty, tells a tale that is both revelling in the bygone golden age of Hollywood and bogged down in the filth and horror of the ...