It’s that time of year again. Time for family gatherings, office parties and too many mince pies! And what better way to celebrate than coming along The Christmas Wishlist at The Yard theatre?
Faustaff is rather like a bad smell, uninviting and left somewhat of an unpleasant whiff. With a meagre ten audience members attending the performance, myself included, it doesn’t fill one with much hope. The space itself is set in the round and has a sort of warehouse/manufactured feel about it, not to forget the squeaky seats that give the impression of standing on a cat’s tail every time you attempted to move position. Feeling rather lonely on my own personal row I do not feel an ounce of excitement, or to be perfectly honest atmosphere in the room.
BAM – Being a Man Festival 2015 takes place at the Southbank Centre this weekend. The festival addresses the challenges and pressures of masculine identity in the 21st century and offers a platform for men to share experiences as well as free music, exhibitions, workshops, and discussion groups. Of course there are also a variety of shows and I went to see Hervé again, which I had reviewed almost five years ago when it was playing at the Rosemary Branch Theatre, shortly before it went on to the Edinburgh Fringe where it was nominated for a Fringe First Award.
One of Shakespeare‘s lesser performed, and perhaps lesser known The Merchant of Venice receives its moment in the spotlight thanks to the communal and diverse theatre troupe, the East London Shakespeare Company.
Friends, Romans, Countrymen! This winter season Ben Hur is well and truly here to stay!
Who ever thought so many roles could be taken on, adapted and made funny by a meagre four lead actors. The utterly charming John Hopkins leads audiences into the world of the play, making it known that he himself is the ‘one true star of the show’. Unlike the onscreen version of Ben Hur this production incorporates a great deal of comedy throughout and rarely has a dull moment in sight. The acting talent is top notch and the over theatricality of the whole thing is unquestionably attractive to watch.
Ben Hur at the Tricycle Theatre in Association with Fiery Angel, Fiery Dragons and The Watermill Theatre
“We are gathered here, communally, to be educated, to enter into pedagogy and this here is a two way street”. This is a show of introduction, education and instruction, where a political ideology, queer perspective and gender transcendence is encouraged. Within this production, Ms David Hoyle invites you to decide whether you will grow up to be a suburban housewife or the crème de la crème. It is an education, not worth missing…
Imaginatively presented for The Place Dance Theatre stage, Aakash Odedra Company excites and engages in an enlightening visual production, of Murmur 2.0.
The human body is well and truly a temple, the amount of functions it carries out is an absolute marvel, from the brain sending various body parts a series of messages in a split second to that wonderful chemical, adrenaline fuelling fight or flight situations, the anatomy continues amaze.
Dance melded with a unique blend of special effects and lighting leaves audience members truly blown away. As you enter the space you are presented with a circle of fans and drapes of silk hung from the ceiling, which play an essential part later on in the production. Dancer and choreographer Aakash Odedra does a stunning job of highlighting the complicated theme of the performance, the battle one has to deal with when suffering from dyslexia.
Six Lips aim to re-imagine the Jacobean play The Duchess of Malfi with a fashionable new approach. The staging of the play as a catwalk presents a monochromatic style with ease, and the choice to place the cast within the modern world of tabloid journalism and superficial attitudes is an ambitious one. Whilst this does pay off in some instances, the media parallels within the narrative do not fully align as intended.
