The path towards achieving social mobility is an enduring one, one paved with ambition, ethic and resilience. The very notion of being able to move amongst the classes an aspirational feat ingrained within the British fabric. A phenomenon observed and tapped into well by George Bernard Shaw and his classic work Pygmalion – the production is a fascinating case study into the power of language, tone and confidence/demeanour.
A summer that has seen Greta Gerwig’s smash hit Barbie movie become the highest grossing movie of the year, the decades long phenomenon has enjoyed a new found resurgence worldwide. An embodiment of femininity held up for a long time in the mainstream, the world famous doll served as a symbol of beauty, a message ingrained from childhood. Channeling and dismantling this idea, Sabean Bea and Alanna Flynn craft Dolls & Guys, a Toy Story meets Spice Girls mash up adding to our millennial, feminist-centric theatrical landscape we’re currently in.
Come rain or shine, you can depend on the UK to put on an unforgettable outdoor experience, Battersea Park in Concert adding to a roster of summertime events both on a local and national scale celebrating our love of music. Organised by charitable organisation Enable in partnership with Wandsworth Music and Wandsworth Borough Council, the event takes over part of the 200 acre, Victorian park over 3 nights – Saturday 26th August – a West End themed soirée, Sunday 27th August – a classical music fuelled event fronted by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Monday 28th August with headliner Brit Award, Ivor Novello and MOBO Award Winning artist Gabrielle, renowned for her distinctive pop/soul sound which dominated the 90s pop music scene.
The power of the alter ego allows for the individual putting on a persona to release their inhibitions and access an authentic part of themselves perhaps many others themselves identify or connect with. A magnification of a facet perhaps overlooked normally, however realised dependent on circumstance. An exploration of drag, sexuality, performance, fleeting love and connecting with oneself, Tim Fraser crafts the production Candy.
The road to recovery is a tiring and tough one when undergoing chemotherapy treatment. The impact of a cancer diagnosis on a patient and their loved ones a life altering event. Supported by the Create Health Foundation, founded by Professor Geeta Nargund, with the purpose of empowering women of all ages about their health, writer Mark Oxtoby and director Mika Simmons crafts short film My Week With Maisy – a tale about Maisy, a young girl and Mrs Foster, an elder women both undergoing chemotherapy and the affect this has on them both.
The very notion of discussing mental health in the 1960s would have been unthinkable, a reality of society often sidelined and viewed upon as a taboo subject. How internal emotional and psychological struggles manifest varies dependent on the individual, in certain cases, bringing about devastating consequences. Decades on and it’s starting to become socially acceptable to discuss mental health openly, but there’s a long way to go still. Following the mysterious death of a young woman in 1969, Two Thousand and One’s unsettling production Conscience observes the interrogation of a suspect – mental health an underlying factor throughout the narrative.
This year marks a year shy of 7 decades post the beginnings of the Civil Rights Movement, a movement tackling the inescapable racist climate of the day – and with it fighting for a better tomorrow. Post George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter Movement, we’re at a crucial moment in time where we question what gets taught within our institutions – for the greater good. Tracing Africa’s, America’s and the UK’s journey to build a hopeful world post racism and colonialism, Young Vic Artistic Director Kwame Kwei-Armah presents Beneatha’s Place, a bridge between the old world and the new one that emerges.
Courtesy of Johan Persson.
We’ve slowly made the transition into a more AI-centric world, a world where we etch out the rule book that ensures man and machine live side by side reciprocally, rather than find ourselves at constant loggerheads. It’s a normality now to see the things we think about emerge digitally in some sort of shape or form. We’ve seen engineers work to make technology sentient, conscious energies on a par with humans – but can this ever be possible? Questioning ‘consciousness’ and how this differentiates us from machines, Secret Thoughts welcomely enters us into what evidently is a transformational time.
Post 2020 and certain aspects of humanity have become prevalent. A fast paced world pre 2020, lockdowns forced many to slow down and appreciate the natural beauty around us – our natural world something perhaps taken for granted before, now a sanctuary. How to better look after it, a priority that although had been stressed before, became more urgent and still is! Addressing themes of climate change and social justice, Ontroerend Goed present Are we not drawn inward toward new erA, a mirror held up to humanity on the brink of collapse or change.
Established in 1989, Company of Elders for over 3 decades now have championed the voices of the over 60s. A much needed space for a demographic typically ignored in the mainstream to explore, present and connect, Company of Elders welcome home break barriers – returning to Sadler’s Wells with their latest collection of works.
