The Etienne Sisters sets to warm up the Theatre Royal Stratford East Stage this autumn. Written and directed by acclaimed playwright Ché Walker, the drama also features a musical component. The songs featured however would no be made possible without the assistance of a composer and songwriter. Cue both Sheila Atim and Anoushka Lucas, who have teamed up with Walker to create a musical landscape in which the characters inhabit. Ahead of The Etienne Sister‘s debut in Sepetember, Theatrefullstop were lucky enough to speak to singer/songwriter Anoushka Lucas about collaborating with Walker once again, her approach to writing songs for the production and gives advice to aspiring singer/songwriters!

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In the heart of East London, there’s a family of two lamenting the loss of a loved one, which in turn results in the unwelcome arrival of an estranged loved one. Well, in the case of Ché Walker’s The Etienne Sisters, this appears to be the character’s realities. Theatre Royal Stratford East will play host to walker’s fierce and fiery family centred tale, accompanied by a soundtrack courtesy of both singer and songwriters, Sheila Atim and Anoushka Lucas, whom have a proven track record with the critically acclaimed, Klook’s Last Stand, showing last year at the Park Theatre. Ahead of The Etienne Sisters premiere at the Theatre Royal Stratford East, Theatrefullstop were lucky enough to talk to Walker about the amount of strong female roles on offer theatrically, themes explored in the play and his inspiration for writing the piece.

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It’s rare to walk down a high street without spotting either a bookies, or a chicken and chip shop. It’s a sign of our times at present, a marker of 21st century London. Both seemingly unassuming settings, what dramatically could happen? Well, in Lynette Linton’s refreshing new production, Chicken Palace, the chicken and chip shop setting is given a lease of life. Having made her debut at new writing festival,  Angelic Tales, 3 years ago with her production STEP, Linton has gone from strength to strength in her writing career. Ahead of Chicken Palace‘s debut, Theatrefullstop were lucky enough to speak to the playwright about her inspirations for the play, working with Theatre Royal legends Rikki Beadle-Blair and John Russel Gordon, and offers advice to aspiring playwrights!

Hi Lynette! How are you feeling ahead of the first performance of your new play, Chicken Palace, due to show at Stratford East Theatre Royal?

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Roy Williams’ new version of Sophocles’ ancient tale of familial warfare and hubris is brought to Theatre Royal Stratford East after touring the UK at the end of 2014. With this re-telling of Antigone, a story that has been told thousands of times in the last 2,500 years, Roy Williams sheds new light on an old problem. Just how much are we willing to stand up for what we believe in? How far should we go to protect our honour, or that of our family? This is what Williams addresses in a bleak, filthy Thebes where soldiers are “fam” and gangland rivalries are all that matter.

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With the 100th anniversary of the start of World War One last year, it seemed a natural choice by the Theatre Royal Stratford East to revive the dark musical that re-examines the established view of ‘The Great War’. Following this revival last year, the same production started on its six month national tour last month where I saw it, on its first leg.

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I approached The Infidel, a musical seeking to tackle the centuries old Jewish-Muslim tension through song, with caution. The premise is a brave one: Kev Orkian as Mahmud, a modern everyday Muslim, finds out that he was born Solly Shimshillewitz, which throws him into a significant identity crisis. As Lenny, his Jewish neighbour and soon-to-be best mate puts it, he may as well have been called “Jewy-Jewy Jew Jew”.

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It’s Afro Vibes Festival down at Stratford Circus this month and when I got there I was welcomed by the sound of The Soil, with talented support from a youth choir. It was an energetic start, and I joined in with gusto, if not grace. Rhetorical takes a retrospective look at the political career of Thabo Mbeki, a key player in the ANC and Mandela’s successor. The piece is a series of separate pictures, based around three of his speeches and sewn together in a broad tapestry illustrating some of the many perspectives of the South African people. The poor still desperately poor, still waiting for the change they have been promised while the rising middle class cling to their newfound freedom. We are brought into family life and political arenas and on to the streets and slums, to witness the state of a society still recovering from the many wounds of apartheid as well as some more recently inflicted.

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Note: This show was a staged reading of a work in progress, after only a day of rehearsals.

After Rikki Beadle-Blair’s energetic introduction, the audience were thrust into the show, ‘Jamaica Boy’. Surrounding the cast on stage was an audience being brought into the process of writing a play. ‘Jamaica Boy’ is far from finished, but once it has been polished this play has the potential to become a real diamond of a piece.

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“You’re silencing it. You get people here by calling it ‘Sunday’, then they find out it’s about lesbians.” So went one woman’s feedback about the title of Joy Gharoro-Akpajotor’s hard-hitting, hair-raising solo playwright debut. We the audience were very split on this point, and the discussion raged, facilitated by award-winning writer and director Rikki Beadle-Blair as he darted from left to right, negotiating the rush of raised hands: “It’s getting serious!”.

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With policing procedures such as the Stop and Search principle coming under fire for its discriminative nature; the reputation of the police force has become questionable. Post 2011, and incidents such as the causation of the London Riots and revelations over the true events of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 have only further unearthed a darker and corrupt aspect to an organisation purposed in protecting the lives of civilians…

© Robert Day

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