Stringberg’s 1901 work A Dream Play is historically important: its lack of structure, condensing of characters to social roles and narrative current that winds along by way of thin associations between people and places mean it was a herald of dramatic surrealism and expressionism. A dream-like tapestry that eschewed the trappings of realism that Ibsen […]
Well-executed if not a little rough around the edges, this take on the quirky self-referential [Title of Show] from SR productions is entertaining enough to provide a fun night of musical theatre on the West End’s fringe, but lacks the quality and daring direction needed to make it a complete success. As the name suggests, this mid-noughties […]
I have to write this review with an extra level of care. Not a fear of offence; I want get across the show’s provocative manner, after all. But I’m extra-conscious that what I’ll write will uphold some very unconscionable standards. And please don’t think I’m indulging with artificial difficulty, either. I could write in a […]
Following its sell-out premiere at the Spitalfields Music Summer Festival, Sister is the latest production from Born Mad. It’s an experimental piece, using music and vocals to delve into the many aspects of family life and, particularly, the nature of sisterhood. Its two leads, Daisy Brown and Nia Coleman, present an anthology of different memories, […]
With such a small cast and situated within the intimate Trafalgar Studios, Vanities: The Musical relies strongly on its trio of female leads. Lauren Samuels, Ashleigh Gray and Lizzy Connolly certainly deliver deft and formidable performances as the central characters of Mary, Kathy and Joanne—a closely-knit group of friends who begin as peppy cheerleaders, only […]
Second World War stories always seem to be crowd-pleasing, bringing in elements of tragedy, violence, treason and, in this case, …
‘The Pussy Riot performances cannot be reduced just to subversive provocations. Beneath the dynamics of their acts, there is the inner stability of a firm ethico-political attitude. In some deeper sense, it is today’s society that is caught in a crazy capitalist dynamic with no inner sense and measure, and it is Pussy Riot that […]
Typical off-West End, though you’d expect Soho Theatre to programme something more enticing (and I’m definitely enticed by Burning Doors). Writer Owen McCafferty and Director Adam Penford’s Unfaithful is of the barely-enough variety, the kind of play that chucks rough sex and swears around to raise the room temperature (in the dramatic sense, not in […]