The process of putting a production together is a complicated and often arduous process. However 24 Hour Plays decides to make proceedings even more difficult by giving themselves only twenty-four hours to put a show together. As the Prologue tells us, the actors come together with only themselves, no pre conceived ideas of what they want to create. It is not surprising then that this show becomes centred around the actors’ own experiences and issues.
In less than a week, Theatre Land will be flocking to the prestigious Royal Opera House as one of the biggest Awards ceremonies in the industry descends onto both stage and screen. However…do you find that whilst your sat watching these ceremonies, you’re shaking your head at the fact that the award wasn’t won by the rightful nominee, or that certain categories have been omitted? Cue Mark Shenton and Terri paddock…two established theatre critics who have worked for some of the biggest publications in the UK as they start a movement! Intent on showcasing the very best both of on stage and off stage, they are determined to shine a light on the elements of theatre that are otherwise ignored with the very first Also Recognised Awards!
Playmakers at Tabard Theatre presents six new plays among which is John Hamilton May’s Love in the Past Participle. After a sell-out run at the Edinburgh Festival this is a play that I’m curious about even before entering the theatre – a new play is an exciting event and I am hoping it adds a new perspective to the well-discussed subject of love.
Family, friends, colleagues and acquaintances fill up the church service. The priest leads a thoughtful ceremony. Guests make their speeches, expressing moments that will live on forever as they fight back the tears. However, this is the last place you want to be. All of these stories although told with good intentions leaves you wanting to grieve on your own, without anyone watching, without noise, without the chaos.
It is strange to think that only recently photographs were a relatively expensive thing. Photographers had much more of a mystique attached to them and war photographers were stars. The original war photographers, Gerda Taro and Robert Capo are the subject of this new show by Idle Motion.
Aequitas Theatre Company takes on a Shakespearean double bill: Measure for Measure and Merchant of Venice, the latter being directed both by the creator of the company Rachael Bellis and director Sophia Start. At the core of this company there is a resolution to cast actors based alone on their performing ability and not their appearance – ‘You that choose not by the view’. This comes across entirely as actresses play male characters and vice-versa and young actors play older characters and I must say it is quite refreshing to see such bold decisions on casting, though for the audience it can be quite puzzling at first.
Creditors, originally by Strindberg, is now rewritten by Neil Smith for a first run at the Brockley Jack Studios. Unfamiliar with Strindberg’s plot in the first place I am uncertain of how much has changed to adapt the modern times, though there are a few obvious references to today’s world.
It is safe to say that the production of These Trees are Made of Blood has surprised me in many ways. A very heavy story opens in a quite boisterous way as we find ourselves in the middle of Coup Coup Cabaret – an entrancing and welcoming set that places the audience in the middle and amongst the performers. This play is a carefully constructed piece of theatre and Amy Draper takes on bold and powerful choices with Paul Jenkins‘ formidable play text.
Hiraeth is the Welsh word for longing – a deep yearning of a place or a time – and the perfect title for this performance created by a Welsh non-actress, theatre designer Buddug James Jones and her actor friend Max Mackintosh along with director Jesse Briton. It tells the story of James Jones and her leaving Wales to come to London – her desire to break free and see the world.
