What universally are the most important themes that tie us together? Love? Family? Loss? Forgiveness? For millennia, these are ideas that have been continually looked at, questioned, idealised and analysed in literature, theatre and within the last century film and TV and yet in 2016 we still find ourselves drawn by these themes… but why? Because they are complicated. They are multi-faceted and we always seem to seek wisdom on them… Laila the Musical loosly clasps onto these concepts, and bridges the gap between an ancient world, and our modern technology-centric landscape.

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Labels is exactly what it says on the tin. Identifying how we as humans label each other by race, sexuality, gender and in fact losing a sense of how these judgements have an impact on the world around us; or in most cases the victims of this abuse.

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A coffin presents itself, filled with bereavement snacks including malt loaf, custard creams and apple pie. Jack Rooke and his 85-year old Nan Sicely, invite you to the happiest town in Britain, where Dad’s dead and the only thing to eat is lasagne. Rooke’s critically acclaimed debut hour blends comedy, storytelling and film to explore how we treat the bereaved, whilst challenging proposed welfare cuts for grieving families and celebrating finding happiness after tragedy.

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Since 2013, multi award winning artist Trygve Wakenshaw has delighted theatre fans with his unique brand of comedy. The modern day clown, Wakenshaw is not at all afraid of challenging the theatrical norm, presenting a range of carefully crafted skits that transport you into his weird and wonderful world of colourful characters. With his works, Squidboy, Kraken and currently Nautilus all receiving rave reviews, Wakenshaw is a force to be reckoned with. Ahead of this year’s Mayfest, based in Bristol, Theatrefullstop were able to speak to Wakenshaw about working with the great Philippe Gaulier, his inspirations for his latest piece Nautilus, and he offers advice to aspiring clowning artists. Continue reading

Boy meets girl…They fall in love…It turns out that both protagonists are from rival families… Cue one of the most tragic love stories of all time. There are numerous reasons why this tale has inspired the arts in the way that it has done; it’s language, memorable characters  and symbolism trail blazed the theatre making world to follow and it’s heart lies the human condition. In 1830, Italian composer Vincenzo Bellini premiered his very own take on the tragic tale titled I Capuleti E I Montecchi.

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“It’s like kind of like a pantomime, but less shit”, so goes Jonnie Bayfield’s pithy summary of Idiots, a new production by Caligula’s Alibi. It seems as good a synopsis as any for this odd, Russian-existentialist inspired, musical comedy.

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It often feels like we are headed towards a technology-centric world. How many items around you can you think of that are technological? When thinking of the theatre as an activity, it serves multiple purposes, whether it be for escapism, addressing a range of societal issues or for pure entertainment. How often however do we watch a piece purely for the visual aesthetics, as well as entertainment? The Tom Dale Company and MOKO Dance‘s Digitopia revels in this and triumphs.

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The happily ever after conclusion is a concept that we have been candy coated with since the late 30s. Audiences root for a young protagonist bound by their low social standing in the hopes of love conquering all. Fairytales are often our introduction to the notion of storytelling in the west, finding that we’re brought up with a canon of tales we can all recite in our own ways but are perhaps glazed with a sickly sweet Hollywood glitz and glamour thanks to filmic interpretations. balletLORENT however are not afraid to press on the tale of Snow White‘s darker themes, making for a riveting watch.

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Whether you think it or not, we’re all a ‘brand’. Yes, we might not conciously be promoting an idea or trying to sell the latest gadgets, however we all have our own manifestos, there are certain ideas that we want to promote to those around us. The concept of the ‘brand’ has not been as important or prevalant as it is today. We’re more mindful of branding thanks to the emergance of social media. ANTLER Theatre’s If I Were Me takes on this sign of the times concept and condenses it into a very watchable 60 minutes.

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