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.
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
‘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?
’Andrew Lloyd Webber’s first solid smash hit for quite some time’: CINDERELLA – Gillian Lynne Theatre ★★★★
Andrew Lloyd Webber may have composed better scores than his new Cinderella, but he has certainly never created anything camper, and no, I haven’t forgotten Sunset Boulevard. This collaboration with Oscar winning book writer Emerald Fennell and lyricist David Zippel (City of Angels, ALW’s own The Woman In White) actually feels like something of a return to form, not because it’s much like anything else in the Lord’s canon thus far, but more because, after well over two decades, a new musical by this country’s most successful theatrical composer actually feels, once again, like a major West End event. School Of Rock doesn’t count as it was already a solid Broadway hit by the time it opened at the same Gillian Lynne Theatre that Cinderella is now gaudily occupying.
‘It’s as much fun as it is unexpected’: 13 – Cadogan Hall ★★★★
British Theatre Academy’s 13 proves to be an upbeat piece of musical theatre that could well prove a calling card into the industry for enthusiastic young people on both sides of the footlights.