“Being out here. Sometimes there isn’t a lonliness like it. So be brave. If you can.”
So speaks Mick, the mentally fading grandfather of an isolated farming family facing cruel circumstances in Simon Longman‘s Gundog at The Royal Court theatre upstairs.
Courtesy of Manuel Harlan.
The concept of the American Dream has been an ideal that has gripped the imaginations, and aspirations of millions, as well as inspired. The old fashioned rags to riches tale consisting of a spacious home, a respectable job and a better quality of living are factors that surely none of us could refuse. Drawing on the incredibly influential Chimamanda Ngozi’s short On Monday of Last Week, writer Saaramaria Kuittinen presents a topical tale of immigration, assimilation and culture.
Courtesy of ASME Productions.
On a miserable foggy weekday morning, stuck in a freezing metro while travelling apathetically to work and reading the latest news on a freshly bought one-pound journal, a yawning commuter notices a glove. Who left it there? Whilst scrolling through websites on the Internet, maybe even when checking this same review, a quiz pops up promising to reveal an individual’s inner tropical fruit – are you a sexy papaya or a cool coconut? Both the solitary glove and the juicy test capture your attention, they distract you. That is what The Department does best. A clandestine organisation that operates discreetly, seeding objects all over the place which bored people will eventually notice and will then water creatively with their minds. The abandoned glove will incite people to build a story, diverging their thoughts from their tedious everyday matters.
Courtesy of the Northern Stage Theatre.
Judas premiered in December 2012, when director Johan Simons was still artistic director of the Münchner Kammerspiele. Simons headed the theatre from 2010 to 2014/15, and several of his own productions were invited to the Berliner Theatertreffen – Sarah Kane’s Gesäubert/Gier/Psychose 4:48 (Cleansed/Greed/Psychosis 4:48, TT 2012) as well as Elfriede Jelinek’s Die Straße. Die Stadt. Der Überfall (The Street. The City. The Holdup, TT 2013). In 2013, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Münchner Kammerspiele, the magazine “Theater heute” granted the “Theater of the Year” award to the theatre.
Courtesy of Judith Buss.
The beauty of planet Earth lies within its complexity. Multiple factors co-dependently fuelling our day to day. Our knowledge of the animal kingdom expands, but will always remain mysterious to humanity, but this is where the magic lies. Cirque du Soleil’s OVO taps into our fascination with the animal kingdom, returning with their latest show at the Royal Albert Hall.
Courtesy of Cirque du Soleil.
It seems that, despite the ongoing criticism, the Münchner Kammerspiele are doing something right. Two of their recent productions are invited to the 55th Berliner Theatertreffen – Trommeln in der Nacht by Bertolt Brecht, directed by Christopher Rüping, and Mittelreich with an all-black cast, based on the novel by Josef Bierbichler and the production by Anna-Sophie Mahler, directed by Anta Helena Recke. Only ten outstanding productions from theatres all over Germany are chosen every year. (Reviews of both productions can be found on this website.)
Courtesy of Thomas Aurin.
Well the Bridge Theatre is bloody posh. That’s the first thing I think when stepping into the space. Don’t get me wrong it is beautiful, but it feels highly unwelcoming to a working class person. And that’s a real shame, because the auditorium is packed full of young and trendy individuals, however a lot of the spaces offerings are inaccessible to them.
Courtesy of Manuel Harlan.
Tang Xianzu (1550-1616) is considered to be one of China’s greatest dramatists. A poet, essayist and playwright, Xianzu’s writings are incredibly influential within the Chinese writing canon. In the West, we are made aware of the great works of Shakespeare and Cervantes, Xianzu however, lesser known to us, but a contemporary of both.
It is important that these stories are seen onstage. Let me make that very clear from the offset. As a bisexual woman with a long-term girlfriend, I understand the necessity of having LGBT+ stories told through artistic mediums, visible, as cultural markers that we exist and have valid selfhoods. It is therefore important that Theatre503 continues to stage these stories, and that playwrights like Joanne Fitzgerald hone the craft of telling them.
Greek tragedy on a week night is always a risk, but The Marlowe Society do not disappoint with their courageous The Oresteia. The cataclysm is beautifully presented, addictive and compelling to watch, it strips the theatre to a cavernous space and offers it a place to breathe.
