Simon Stephens often writes plays that are difficult to perform. He will display a character through a pinhole rather than a window. It is therefore very much up to audience to find meaning in what he writes, albeit with assistance from a shrewd director and cast. One Minute is the story of an investigation into […]
‘Now this overdone, or come tardy off, though it make the unskilful laugh, cannot but make the judicious grieve; the censure of the which one must in your allowance o’erweigh a whole theatre of others.’ Act III, Scene II Shakespeare summarises my feelings towards this latest attempt at Hamlet better than any else could; I […]
I am thankful to see a crime drama in a London theatre. It is a scarce genre that deserves to be on the stage more. It is smart to set Caught mostly in an interrogation room: it is a perfect place for intimate, subtle theatre. We see a detective pick apart the alibis of those […]
This show is the equivalent of guiltily checking your ex’s timeline on Facebook: it is not healthy, you learn nothing about how they really feel and it is ultimately a waste of time. McQueen is a self-congratulatory piece about a man who had probably had enough congratulations for a lifetime. While it maintains a great […]
Today I am seated next to Leah Lawry-Johns and Eduard Lewis, who comprise part of the production team of Caught, the Pleasance Theatre’s latest show. Leah, while also writing the piece, is one of its actors in an all-female cast. Eduard, working entirely behind the scenes, is the play’s director. What is Caught about? L: Caught […]
The National’s version of a modest summer hit is The Motherfucker With the Hat, a vulgar look at a man trying to overcome his addictions and stick to his moral code. This man is Jackie, an ex-con who struggles to maintain a relationship after he finds out his coke-addled partner has been sleeping with the […]
Letter To Larry has the advantage of being a play that one cannot reasonably turn away from. It does this by its dialectics—past and present; stage and life; mania and depression—to the effect that the audience is engrossed and rarely numbed by the terrible sadness of it all. This balance is clearly a troublesome one […]
The Iris Theatre’s Pinocchio is a show for children. That does not necessarily preclude an adult from enjoying it, but the adult in question will have to find the childish part of their brain (as long as it still exists). Pinocchio is a kid’s show because it is not layered: it does not entertain both […]