Lion Boy is an adaption of the eponymously titled hit series of novels by Zizou Corder, alias of authors Louisa Young and her daughter Isabel Adomakoh Young. Playwright Marcelo Dos Santos has revived the original 2013 production, strengthening and refining the storytelling to recreate the vivid and whimsical world of the books at The Tricycle Theatre.
This Is Not A Christmas Play is an occasionally hilarious piece of theatre that struggles to be witty and clever while striking gold whenever it goes silly and nuts. It involves two out of work actors, a caricature of a femme fatale and in the middle of it, a desperate guy that thinks that his ex is going to return.
A Winter’s Tale at the Lion and Unicorn Theatre (Kentish Town) follows paranoid and jealous King Leontes as he accuses his wife of adultery and the repercussions this causes. The production has been given a steam punk make-over which, although it was a struggle to make a link with, was very asthetically pleasing. The production has been directed and adapted by Ross McGregor and runs at a concise two hours including the interval.
Pantomime is integral to local theatre at Christmas. It’s so well-loved a tradition that the sight of a dame makes me feel very festive and British. Having been immersed in the slightly more sordid world of student pantomimes these past few years, I was excited to see Cinderella at the Grand Opera House in York.
The Miller accidentally tells the King that his daughter Emily can spin straw into gold, leading to him locking her up and forcing her to complete the task or else face death. Emily has to seek the help of a mysterious and melancholy creature to help her, but once she has parted with all of her jewellery the only thing she has left to offer is her first and yet to be born child! Fast forward a year and the King and Emily are happily married, the kingdom has never been better and they are celebrating the joyous birth of their baby girl! But the evil creature demands his reward, unless Emily can guess his unusual name!
It’s a rainy day, and yet there doesn’t appear to be anything better to do apart from stare at the continual rain drops trickling down the window. As Sally and her brother obediently wait for their mother to return home, what better way to spend the time than to help out with the housework, or catch up on the latest homework due in for the next day… not!
It is the 3rd of September 1916, during The Battle of Guillemont, WW1, and two men lie in wait in the trenches. They wait to be rescued or to succumb to either the Huns or the trench itself. Simon is an Englishman raised in India, and Buck, an Irishman serving in the Royal Irish Regiment.
It’s believed that puppetry has been a great way of showcasing plays since 3000BC and it’s no different in today’s generation. This festive season creates a good platform for puppetry to be used to entertain children. This is exactly the idea behind Beegu, a puppetry show presented by the Dotted Line Theatre and Artsdepot.
We’re all familiar with the well known tale of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, from lavish tea parties, to talking chess pieces, but what of it’s sequel, Through the Looking Glass, And What Alice Found There? Written by influential author, Lewis Carroll in 1871, the narrative follows Alice as she once again escapes to an unknown world populated by an array of fantastical creatures. But whilst on her travels, she discovers a book… The Jabberwocky… but what does it say? What does it mean?
Last week Owen Jones told a crowd of Labour supporters and students how the left must attach emotions and anecdotes to the uninspiring bread and butter of stats. It’s not enough to just tell people that 1 million are driven to food banks in the UK, the sixth biggest economy in the world. Numbers, no matter how impressive, are a turn off.
