Today, the Evening Standard announces the 2022 shortlist for the 66th Evening Standard Theatre Awards. The shortlist features the biggest names and emerging talents from the London stage over the last eighteen months, who are recognised across nine award categories. Among the contenders are globally-renowned actors and actresses and hit shows including: Oklahoma!, Cabaret, The Father and the Assassin and Best of Enemies.
It’s Tuesday night in The Pit and two bald, middle-aged French men are telling a story. In many ways it’s an old story: girl meets boy, falls in love, goes on an adventure in which they lose and then find one another again. In many more immediate ways, it is not. The man to my right, Romain Bermond, is etching a park boulevard with geometric detail in real-time. Opposite him, the man to my left, Jean-Baptiste Maillet, is playing a drum kit with one hand, space-rock synths with the other and a harmonica in-between. They are Stereoptik and Stellaire is a love-story mime. It is also set in space.
© Christophe Raynaud de Lage.
An inevitable part of existence, death determines the end of our life cycle; a dark part of our reality that we only tend to discuss in the West post someone’s passing, if we’re comfortable enough in opening up about it. Jaco Van Dormael and Michèle Anne De Mey’s daring exploration of moments leading up to seven character’s demise brings light to the normality and mundanity of life, as well as it’s unpredictability as we have no idea of knowing when our time will come to an end.
Courtesy of Julien Lambert.
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.
The topic of fertility affects all, yet it’s a topic that we only now find ourselves starting to openly discuss. Everyone has their own personal stories and journeys, a multitude of experiences still yet to explore and learn from. Inspired to curate a festival addressing this often taboo subject, co-founders of Fertility Festival 2019 Jessica Hepburn and Gabby Vautier talk about this year’s emphasis on discussing the modern family, what audiences can expect from this year’s line up and how societal conversations have shifted towards raising awareness on the multi-faceted topic.
Tyrone Issac-Stuart regularly performs with Boy Blue Entertainment and Foreign Bodies Orchestra (Sean Graham) and has worked with artists such as Jonzi D, Soweto Kinch, Joseph Toonga and Botis Seva. He has taught and performed in places as diverse as the USA, the UK, Switzerland, Kenya, France, Soweto and Brussels. He is a multi-talented artist blending together his saxophone skills and band, spoken word and dance skills favouring krump and experimental.
For over 40 years, the London International Mime Festival has sought to showcase the very best practitioners from the fields of live art, physical theatre, puppetry and dance. The festival continually ups the stakes and just when you think you’ve witnessed it all… your expectations are pushed even higher. Situated in the Barbican’s more intimate space, The Pit; Euripides Laskaridis‘ Relic remembers to have fun and not at all take itself seriously.
Courtesy of the Barbican.
Kloe has been dancing with Boy Blue Entertainment for the last 10 years. She is an established artist within the Hip Hop dance scene. Her work has been showcased at numerous dance platforms such as Move It London and Breakin’ Convention. Kloe Set up her dance company Myself UK Dance when she was 18 and has continued to push her female performers.
Courtesy of The Barbican.
Boy Blue first burst onto the scene in 2007 with Pied Piper but they have been grafting since they were in 6th form together in East London, maturing into an important part of the community and nurturing the young talent with their many dance programmes. They are one of the UK’s leading Hip Hop dance companies and they continue to grow.
