Joe Orton had been dead six years when Alan Bennett’s 1973 Habeas Corpus made its West End debut in a production starring Sir Alec Guinness.
Mates blogger: Alun Hood
Alun Hood is one of over 45 theatre bloggers who are part of the MyTheatreMates collective. This page features Alun's posts on MyTheatreMates. Take a look at our full list of theatre bloggers and our aggregated feed of all our Mates' posts. We’re always looking for new theatre bloggers. Could that be you? Learn about how to join us.
Alun Hood has been at the theatre on a regular basis since the age of 8. He has seen upwards of 3000 stage productions, mainly in London but also in New York, Paris, Sydney, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Chichester, Manchester, Glasgow, Cardiff and, er, Croydon. He’ll go anywhere for a bit of live action and red plush. Alun studied Drama & English at University of London and has worked in theatre all his professional life. In addition to his personal blog, he reviews for WhatsOnStage and was a 2016/7 theatre panellist for the Laurence Olivier Awards. He’s on Twitter at alunjohnhood.
The latest from Alun on MyTheatreMates
‘Beautiful, a bit strange, quite sinister & entirely transporting’: CABARET – West End ★★★★★
I’m not sure anything prepared me for quite how earth-shatteringly sensational Rebecca Frecknall’s take on Cabaret would turn out to be.
‘An enthralling, bewitching new staging with a terrific young cast’: SPRING AWAKENING – Almeida Theatre
I’m not sure even the greatest admirers of this 2006 Broadway smash will be prepared for the emotional and visceral impact of this jaw-droppingly fine new production by the Almeida’s artistic director Rupert Goold.
‘The term crowdpleaser was coined for shows such as this’: THE CHOIR OF MAN – Arts Theatre ★★★
Big burly men who sing like angels while dispensing free beer….what’s not to love, right?! It isn’t hard to fathom the appeal of The Choir Of Man.
‘The music provides a haunting, grounding overlay’: THE COMEDY OF ERRORS – Barbican Centre (RSC)
It might seem a bit odd to come out of a Shakespeare play raving about the singing and music. Yet these elements are part of what lifts Phillip Breen’s captivating new RSC production.
‘Commendably, it never descends into cliché’: STRAIGHT WHITE MEN – Southwark Playhouse ★★★
A long-standing darling of the avant-garde downtown Off-Broadway theatre scene where she has her own company, Young Jean Lee is known for creating plays that are punchy, free-form and adventurous.
‘It takes you to that smashing place where you just can’t stop laughing’: PRIDE & PREJUDICE (sort of) – West End ★★★★
Every so often a little show comes along pretty much unheralded and without star casting that strikes a chord with audiences and critics alike, and ends up sticking around in the West End for years.
‘It’s refreshing to see Australian writing on the London stage’: THE SUGAR HOUSE – Finborough Theatre ★★★
Nobody who sees this award-nominated Australian drama is likely to accuse playwright Alana Valentine of lacking ambition.
‘Devastating, dark & rich’: LOVE & OTHER ACTS OF VIOLENCE – Donmar Warehouse ★★★★★
The birth of a new star is always a source of theatrical excitement, and it’s been a while since we’ve seen a professional debut as impressive as that of Abigail Weinstock.
‘Really a rather marvelous surprise’: INDECENT PROPOSAL – Southwark Playhouse ★★★★
Unlike the critically mauled Broadway tuner Pretty Woman, Michael Conley and Dylan Schlosberg’s tangy and surprising chamber musical is only “inspired” by, as opposed to slavishly following, its source material.
‘An enjoyable evening, superbly acted’: HOW TO SURVIVE AN APOCALYPSE – Finborough Theatre ★★★
Jordan Hall’s multi-award-winning Canadian comedy, in a smart staging by Proud Haddock artistic director Jimmy Walters, is so engaging you don’t really need a glass of overpriced wine to enhance your experience.
‘Good intentions & a fascinating central figure’: IDA RUBINSTEIN – Playground Theatre ★★
Disparaging somebody else’s passion project is a bit like telling a doting parent that their baby is ugly. This stage tribute to Art Nouveau darling Ida Rubinstein is one such endeavour.
‘Thunderously exciting’: & JULIET — West End ★★★★★(★!)
A musical that riffs on Shakespeare while plundering the back catalogue of one of the most successful and prolific songwriters in pop history (Max Martin, who is only not a household name because he prefers the spotlight to be on the interpreters of his work: Backstreet Boys, Britney, Celine, Katy Perry, even Pink and Bon Jovi….you’ll have heard of them) was always destined to be either a car crash or a triumph.
‘A bonkers theatrical thrill ride’: IS GOD IS – Royal Court ★★★★★
One of the Urban Dictionary definitions of “nasty” is a word to describe something that is ridiculously good. Between that and the more traditional meaning of the word, I have no hesitation in proclaiming that Aleshea Harris’s literal firecracker of a play is one of the nastiest shows in town. Acclaimed and awarded upon it’s 2018 Off-Broadway premiere, it’s not hard to see why, especially in Ola Ince’s boldly inventive, fabulously cast new production for the Royal Court. It’s astounding.
‘Theatrical comfort food’: BLITHE SPIRIT – West End ★★★
Written and premiered in the early 1940s while WW2 raged on and the prospect of losing a precious loved one at short notice felt like a very real possibility, Noël Coward’s ghostly comedy is, perhaps not surprisingly, the first of ‘The Master’s plays to be seen in the West End post-pandemic.
‘This gem of a show’: THE LAST FIVE YEARS – West End ★★★★★
Jonathan O’Boyle’s inspired actor-musician take on Jason Robert Brown’s song cycle-cum-musical felt like an eye-opening reinvention.
‘A revival to savour’: SMALL CHANGE – Omnibus Theatre ★★★★
First presented at the Royal Court in 1976 and last seen in London in a starry 2008 revival directed by the author, Peter Gill’s knotty, elegiac text is a dense, tense jumble of memory play, kitchen sink drama, poetry and gay love story. Dipping back and forth in time between the mid 1950s and the mid 1970s in working class Cardiff, it still packs a powerful punch as it raises questions of where do you come from versus where you are now, and what it emotionally cost you to get there.
‘Disconcerting, essential stuff’: CAMP SIEGFRIED – Old Vic Theatre ★★★★
Highly recommended, but I wouldn’t bank on getting a good nights sleep afterwards. Evil in plain sight is a real chiller, and that’s exactly what Wohl is serving up here. Disconcerting, essential stuff.
‘This is powerful, thought-provoking stuff’: NW TRILOGY – Kiln Theatre ★★★★
Educational and richly entertaining, NW Trilogy emerges, in Taio Lawson and Susie McKenna’s vibrant production as a sparky, moving valentine to what is traditionally one of the capital’s most diverse neighbourhoods.
‘Unmissable, breathtaking piece of theatre’: INDECENT – Menier Chocolate Factory ★★★★★
This may be a sweeping statement, but if you’re not profoundly affected by Indecent, Paula Vogel’s provocatively titled powder keg of a play, as staged here in Rebecca Taichman’s Tony Award-winning production, then can you really call yourself a theatrelover?
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