Theresa Rebeck’s Mad House at the Ambassadors Theatre is a tremendously engrossing and satisfying tragicomedy, given a flawless, blazingly well acted production by Moritz von Stuelpnagel.
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
‘Providing some authentic chills’: THE HAUNTING OF SUSAN A – King’s Head Theatre ★★★
Mark Ravenhill’s The Haunting Of Susan A is a creditable and often gripping attempt to marry contemporary issues with Islington’s somewhat grim past, and an interesting, evocative way to commemorate fifty years of the King’s Head Theatre.
’It’s sexy, dark & riveting’: PASSION – Manchester ★★★★★
Make no mistake, this is a world class Passion, and one which any Sondheim nut, or indeed anybody who wants to see a collection of remarkable talents at the top of their game, would be mad not to make the journey to the Hope Mill Theatre Manchester for.
‘Likely to infuriate as many people as it enchants’: OKLAHOMA! – Young Vic Theatre ★★★
Daniel Fish’s sexed-up, pared-down version of Oklahoma! at the Young Vic Theatre (co-directed for London by Jordan Fein) is less a revival and more a full blown deconstruction of the original material.
‘Punchdrunk are back & it’s epic’: THE BURNT CITY – One Cartridge Place, London ★★★★
With The Burnt City, Punchdrunk’s biggest show to date, they take on Greek myth, although the aesthetic is anachronistic: boho chic meets old school Hollywood glamour meets monochrome starkness: there’s not a floaty tunic in sight, although there is a fair bit of blood and gore.
‘Flawed but mainly fabulous & deeply endearing’: SCANDALTOWN – Lyric Hammersmith ★★★★
We knew Mike Bartlett was brilliant, but with this third piece to come to a major London venue in 2022, he displays yet another facet to his virtuosity while staking a claim to be as prolific as Alan Ayckbourn.
‘An intelligent, emotionally astute new production’: RABBIT HOLE – Union Theatre ★★★★
Premiered in New York in 2006, David Lindsay-Abaire’s robust yet delicate piece, which considers the fallout from a child’s death, is a compelling tragicomedy.
‘An original, & splendidly theatrical, take’: Bram Stoker’s DRACULA – Touring ★★★★
There have been numerous screen and stage versions of the Dracula legend over the decades, including a couple of musicals ranging from the misconceived to the riotously camp.
‘A testament to resilience, chutzpah & sheer golden talent’: JEWISH HOLLYWOOD – Upstairs at the Gatehouse
Any study of the history of popular music would be a very slim tome indeed without the contribution of Jewish songwriters, and that’s doubly true when it comes to considering the greatest showbusiness hits.
‘Kit Harington combines drop-dead gorgeous with an innate everyman likability’: HENRY V – Donmar Warehouse ★★★★★
This thrilling Donmar revival comes at a particularly interesting time in global history, where an unchecked leader invading a neighbouring country on which he has no authentic claim is likely to provoke a particularly vehement reaction.
‘Tender yet in-yer-face, raw yet accomplished, it’s unmissable’: BACON – Finborough Theatre ★★★★★
Not since the original 1990 production of Jonathan Harvey’s Beautiful Thing at the Bush (which featured a pre-stardom Jonny Lee Miller) have I seen a new play and young actors that come off with the sheer swagger and brilliance of Sophie Swithinbank’s two-hander.
‘I didn’t feel much like dancing after a couple of hours of this mess’: SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER – Peacock Theatre ★★
“You should be dancing, yeah!” goes the oft-repeated chorus of the Bee Gees hit that loomed large in the original Saturday Night Fever movie soundtrack and closes the first half of this stage version.
‘A big fat solid, crowd-pleasing commercial hit’: MOULIN ROUGE! The Musical – West End ★★★★
Moulin Rouge is ensconced now at the Piccadilly, probably for the foreseeable future, and it’s a true extravaganza, almost completely lacking any restraint
‘It’s naughty & not always nice’: HABEAS CORPUS – Menier Chocolate Factory ★★★★
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.
‘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.
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