From the opening scene, the production pitches suffering so high—wailing and all—that it leaves itself nowhere to go. The emotional intensity is already at its peak before anything unfolds, making for a numbing rather than escalating experience.
Visually, though, the set design is incredible. The cages and scaffolding, prison garms and streetwear, the looming Big House behind the glass—it all works to make the adaptation look relevant and striking. Unfortunately the ensemble lack cohesion. Moments that should feel revolutionary instead feel sparse, missing that collective urgency needed to make the story resonate.
An outstanding play that beautifully conveys both the beauty and the pain of suffering with mental health—and the people who love us through the worst of times.
Brummie playwright Selina Thompson brings her bold new play Twine to The Yard Theatre in East London, shedding light on the racism embedded within the British adoption system while delving into the inner psyche of both the system and the adoptee. This complex play follows the journey of three characters—Bark, Sapling, and Seed—who are played by Muki Zubis, Nandi Bhebhe, and Angelina Chudhi. These characters represent personas of the unseen writer, Sycamore, as they navigate the emotional and psychological toll of adoption.
Voted one of the most influential texts of the 20th century, Waiting for Godot asks for the human condition to slow down and appreciate what is – the show’s leads Estragon and Vladimir symbols of what it is to not be shrouded by materialistic things and just ‘be’. Waiting for Godot a tragicomedy concerned more so with the weight of the words spoken and the bleakness of ego and expectations. Taking residence currently at Theatre Royal Haymarket, James Macdonald’s rendition draws on the dreariness of waiting.
Gone are the days of the ‘And they lived happily ever after’ trope and reality setting in. Bombarded with representations of love throughout the ages, notions of what love looks like are currently being dismantled. Relationship gurus perhaps the closest we’ll get currently to addressing what it takes to make a relationship last. Back with their second musical which I’m sure will be a hit, Lucy Moss and Toby Marlow of Six the Musical fame pen Why Am I So Single?, a self deprecating reality check of the dating scene in the early 21st century.
Piecing various fragments of a puzzle together can seem challenging to some, effortless to others. Determining the culprit of a murder mystery a movement as old as human existence. Masters in the field skilled at arriving at their conclusions, a detective’s detail oriented eye is a tool that has been immortalised within many a work of fiction. A detective nation, detective stories continue to dominate our entertainment realm, Sherlock Holmes the most recognisable of fictional characters in the murder mystery genre. The Lost Estate keeping true to the tradition of dramatising these much loved stories with their The Great Murder Mystery dining experience.
Released over 4 decades ago to critical acclaim, Hollywood hit An Officer and a Gentleman has remained a much loved cinematic classic internationally, Douglas Day Stewart’s tale of a young man’s perseverance training towards a career as a Naval Pilot one that addresses deeper themes concerned with manhood/brotherhood – that more than ever, where we address mental health more openly, has aged well. Nikolai Foster tapping into the relevancy of Stewart’s screenplay effortlessly with a musical adaptation realised entertainingly by musical director Christopher Duffy.
Yael Elisheva invites you to a roast of the Jewish men in their life by retelling stories from Jewish folklore with a modern twist. A one-person show that is part-drag, part-performance art, part-theatre, it’s packed with witty commentary about religion, masculinity and even current day politics in Israel and Palestine. Yael, the creator and performer, is Yaya and plays as themselves and as a number of Jewish American and British characters. It’s a physical undertaking which they pull off with enormous skill and ingenuity. Costume changes, facial hair application, music and video projection all come to their aid in welcoming the audience into Yaya’s very own “City of Fools”.
Larger than life, postmodern, explosive, and chaotic, Daniel York Loh subverts the notion of the typical British Chinese experience in his latest play which premiered in London last week. The last time I felt such awe and excitement about the possibilities of theatre was when I saw Daniel’s last play at the Arcola Theatre, FORGOTTEN 遗忘 (2018).