Viper Squad writer James Dillon’s new show Siren takes the tropes of the sci-fi horror genre (there’s a heavy debt to Alien here) and throws the audience into the middle of the action.
Mates blogger: John Chapman
John Chapman is one of over 45 theatre bloggers who are part of the MyTheatreMates collective. This page features John'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.
John Chapman works as a freelance education consultant, writer and copy editor. Prior to this, he was an Assistant Headteacher specialising in English and Drama. John first took to the stage as a schoolboy pretending to be a Latin frog. Decades later, he has been involved with 150+ productions, usually as an actor or director. He is currently a member of Tower Theatre in Stoke Newington, London. In 2016, he was in their “mechanicals” team that worked as part of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s A Midsummer Night's Dream: A Play For The Nation, appearing both at the Barbican and in Stratford-upon-Avon. In 2004, he served as a panellist on the Olivier Awards; he is currently an Offies assessor. He reviews for a variety of websites, writes his own independent blog 2ndFromBottom about his theatrical life.
The latest from John on MyTheatreMates
‘Uncannily accurate’: QUENTIN CRISP: NAKED HOPE – Stream Theatre (Online review)
The fourth and final Cultural Recovery Fund funded show from production company Seabright has been, like its predecessors, filmed at Wilton’s Music Hall before a live audience and is being streamed via stream.theatre. This is Mark Farrelly’s homage to wilful eccentricity and outré lifestyle Quentin Crisp: Naked Hope.
‘It is an experiment which OTC should consider repeating’: A COLD SUPPER BEHIND HARRODS – Original Theatre Company (Online review)
In what I think may be a first, Original Theatre Company has released a filmed-as-live, onstage rehearsed reading in the shape of A Cold Supper Behind Harrods.
‘Valuable additions to the expanded series’: QUEERS – Old Vic (Online review)
The first new piece for Queers references a moment in history while the second takes a broader more contemporary sweep of recent events but what unites them is that they present the experiences of wider elements of the LGBTQ+ community who also happen to be black; the original series was rather under representative in this area.
‘Deservedly gets a standing ovation’: BLACK IS THE COLOR OF MY VOICE – Stream Theatre (Online review)
What makes Black Is The Color Of My Voice stand out from the crowd is Apphia Campbell’s performance which is multi-layered, dynamic and assured and, when she’s singing, spine-tingling.
‘Timely piece that deserves to keep having success’: A Super Happy Story (About Feeling Super Sad) – Silent Uproar (Online review)
Silent Uproar’s cabaret style show A Super Happy Story (About Feeling Super Sad) is a highly sensitive and nuanced performance which nails the debilitating effects of what is still a misunderstood condition.
‘A crack team of acting talent has been assembled’: THE GIRL NEXT DOOR – Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough (Online review)
The piece in question is Alan Ayckbourn’s The Girl Next Door which harks back to earlier plays such as Whenever, Miss Yesterday, Surprises and especially Communicating Doors in its central conceit of time travel.
‘Chance for a wider audience is undoubtedly a good thing’: LEATHER – Finborough Theatre (Online review)
The Finborough Theatre’s latest show to hit the ether is Leather which is now available on demand. It is a play which isn’t for the faint hearted and comes trailing clouds of notoriety as one of the first plays (if not THE very first) to highlight male rape, domestic violence and sado-masochism within the gay community.
‘Concentrate on the actual experience which is thoroughly enjoyable’: KNOT – Darkfield (Online review)
Simply called Knot, this is a three-part play which requires the listener to be at a specified (though general) location at a certain time, then to connect to an app and let Darkfield do the rest.
‘Concentrates on the indomitability of the human spirit’: LONE FLYER / ENG-ER-ALND – Jermyn Street Theatre (Online review)
Footprints Festival at Jermyn Street celebrates female empowerment
‘Beautifully memorialised’: ODE TO JOYCE – Jermyn Street Theatre (Online review)
Ode To Joyce is an enjoyable 75 minute celebration of the wit and wisdom of a self-effacing performer who did much to pave the way for a later generation of women to seize the comic nettle.
‘Challenging preconceptions’: DARLING / A PASSION PLAY – Written On The Waves (Online review)
45 North’s audio play series Written On The Waves kicked off Season 2 with a trilogy Lifted a couple of weeks ago. This has swiftly been followed by a second play from one of the same writers and as it was reasonably brief I also thought I would go back to one of the pieces from Season 1 that I had yet to get round to reviewing.
‘Will give pause for thought’: THE CLOAK OF VISIBILITY – The Space (Online review)
While The Cloak Of Visibility from The Space may not particularly break any new ground thematically or stylistically it is a solid enough piece which plays well and will give pause for thought.
’It was good to see some fresh perspectives’: Am I A Terrible Person? / Doody (Online review)
Following a rather busy week there was only time yesterday to dip a toe into the waters at the Brighton Fringe (see what I did there?). Quite by chance I came across a pair of short solo plays which dealt with the same subject but did so from quite different perspectives; the subject in question being male mental health.
‘Pushing the boundaries of audio work’: LIFTED – Written on the Waves (Online review)
45 North’s second series of Written On The Waves has opened with a trio of short plays under the collective title of Lifted. They are performed by the writers themselves who are all relatively new voices.
‘A diverting enough play to enjoy late at night’: BROKEN LINK – Brighton Fringe (Online review)
Noga Flaishon’s immersively creepy piece Broken Link for Harpy Productions uses Zoom and other modern tech to generally good effect to tell what is, essentially, a good old fashioned ghost story.
‘A very fine production to revive’: TOUCHING THE VOID – Bristol Old Vic (Online review)
Touching The Void is a very fine production to revive and John Chapman is glad to have finally caught up with this thrillingly staged real life story of facing mortality and winning.
‘As much about life as it is death’: A Brief List Of Everyone Who Died – Finborough Theatre (Online review)
Quite apart from its quirky title, A Brief List Of Everyone Who Died, what immediately strikes the viewer is the elegance of the structure of this piece from American writer Jacob Marx Rice.
‘You will be charmed, entertained & moved’: LOVE IN THE LOCKDOWN (Online review)
One of the first to hit the airwaves is Love In The Lockdown by Clare Norburn featuring the music of medieval music ensemble The Telling.
‘Ripe with oddball characters & well-crafted dialogue’: SEVERED HEADS (Online review)
Justin McDevitt’s plays for Severed Heads deal with forms of obsession and angst in which someone loses their head – often literally.