High hair and high hopes are on offer at the Savoy Theatre with Dolly Parton’s musical hit 9 to 5 that’s landed a place on the West End after its UK and US tour. A rough cut and paste job of the original 80s script, but with camp musical numbers from Parton thrown in to give it added sparkle.
Just recently the internet celebrated its 30th Birthday; a phenomenon that has revolutionised the way in which we share and consume information. No longer are we solely dependent on the voices of mainstream tabloids and broadsheets; we’re now in control of where we consume our information from, whether that be from forums, video sharing sites, blogs or websites. With this growing phenomena of information sharing, we ourselves are capable of airing our perspectives and opinions to a mass audience in a matter of seconds; this now creating space for all sorts of voices to perpetuate their agendas. Ahead of the return of Scotsman’s Fringe First Award 2017 ‘The Believers Are But Brothers’, playwright Javaad Alipoor discusses the show’s addressing of this phenomena. An online world we once celebrated the beginnings of, now a Wild West of opinions ranging from the tame to the absolute inflammatory.
Anne Washburn’s theatrical adaptation of The Twilight Zone does not try to disguise itself from the original TV show’s iconic personality. The play is quirky, creepy, and funny as it fully embraces the over the top nature of its origins which inspired a plethora of recognisable Sci-Fi tropes.
Friends are your family away from home; a network relied up and formed usually within our formative years. Often told secrets our own families are not aware of, friends are a great source of support, impacting positively towards our own mental health and well being. These are probably one of the strongest bonds we’ll form within our lives. Rascal Theatre‘s Galvanise celebrates this notion, the power of the friendship bond particularly during our teenage years.
Now in it’s third home, the Duke of York’s Theatre, (after being at Theatre Clwyd in Wales and London’s National Theatre), Laura Wade’s brilliant play entertains right from the off. Focusing on vintage nostalgia and the role of women in the contemporary day, Home, I’m Darling is a fascinating insight into hobby culture and the steps people take to achieve their dreams.
Courtesy of Manuel Harlan.
Did GCSE History teach you how sassy and irresistible Henry VIII’s wives were? Didn’t think so. Brand new British musical SIX has achieved what every new theatre show could hope for; a fresh, buzzing production that’s the insatiable talk of the town.
At the beginning of The Paper Man, the cast asks audience members to raise their hands if they don’t like football. About half the room’s go up. But like the sport or not, everyone’s got a story about football.
With the Royal Court I often find that it’s the smaller shows upstairs in the Jerwood that are actually the most powerful explosions across the London theatre scene. Clean Break’s Inside Bitch is no different.
Courtesy of Ali Wright.
Technologically impressive, with a fascinating sci-fi concept that ultimately falls short when searching for depth or meaning. Tesseract is divided into two halves like many pieces of conventional theatre, yet more unconventionally, Tesseract’s first act is a 3D film, the second a live performance. Armed with 3D glasses, Charles Atlas’s film exhibits incredibly impressive visuals, the clarity and scope makes for an immersive experience. For want of better terminology, the performers look as though they are truly popping out of the screen in such clear lucidity, far more-so than any 3D cinema experience.
Flamboyant, relevant and highly entertaining, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie delivers a hilarious yet moving narrative following a 16 year old boy who dreams of becoming a drag queen in working class Sheffield. Tom MacRae’s musical is packed full of witty comedy, it explores identity, ambition, and the crushing reality of bigotry in school and even at home.
