Calling their collection Grimm Tales For Fragile Times And Broken People, Creation have woven together five of the Grimm brothers’ stories which have resonances with the current lockdown situation and the issues of confinement and mental health.
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
‘Has a contemporary resonance’: MYTH (Online review)
Ancient Myth clashes with modern Myth in a powerful rock musical about fame and mental health.
Seems to have hit the appropriate moment’: TROILUS & CRESSIDA – RSC (Online review)
The RSC’s stirring production of the not often seen Shakespeare Troilus and Cressida with canny casting and a thrilling percussive score.
‘Right up to standard & terrific fun’: Sherlock In Homes 2: Murder On Ice (Online review)
If you’re a whodunnit devotee and you like plenty of (frozen) red herring then you’ll love Sherlock In Homes 2: Murder On Ice.
‘A novel & quite chilling piece of home theatre’: THE WHITE PLAGUE (Online review)
A pandemic sweeps the land and the government introduces new quarantine rules – yes, that is the plot of The White Plague, not the news headlines.
‘Perfect for the season’: THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA – RSC (Online review)
A rom com with a dark edge makes for good Valentine’s Day entertainment
‘Richly rewarding’: THE WHIP – RSC (Online review)
The legacy of Britain’s involvement in the slave trade is fascinatingly examined in the audio version of The Whip from the RSC.
‘One of the most well crafted & thoughtful of the 1990s’: BEAUTIFUL THING (Online review)
As I settled to watch Jonathan Harvey’s Beautiful Thing yesterday, I wondered whether it might also fall into the category of an historical artefact that had had its day; as it was, I was pleasantly surprised.
‘It’s as though the aesthetic has been created by Jean Paul Gaultier’: 6 DEGREES BELOW THE HORIZON – Imitating The Dog (Online review)
Though the story of 6 Degrees Below The Horizon seems simple there’s a whole wealth of meaning bubbling away under the surface and it’s the sort of piece where different people will find varieties of meaning in what is being played out.
‘I found myself found myself working in intelligence again!’: VIPER SQUAD REMASTERED – CtrlAltRepeat (Online review)
You know you’ve been in lockdown for far too long when you reattend a show you’ve already seen and they have had time to restructure the original into a new improved version. That’s what’s happened though with CtrlAltRepeat’s online interactive problem solver now rebranded as Viper Squad Remastered. I
‘It’s a noise that is well worth your time’: SHOOK (Online review)
Following a critically acclaimed run at Southwark Playhouse, a transfer to the West End’s Trafalgar Studios was in progress when lockdown intervened. Shook has now emerged in a filmed version so we can see what the “noise” was all about. And it’s a noise that is well worth your time.
‘Engaging but not without their darker side’: Paper Aeroplane / Clever Cakes / The Twits (Online review)
Three of London’s most prolific children’s theatres make the OnComm Award finalist’s list.
‘A few tasty morsels to satisfy any cravings’: TELLING TALES – muck + rumble (Online review)
Short and sweet but with a sharp edge the playlets featured in Telling Tales help spread ‘a little bit of magic’.
‘An unusual approach & clever solutions’: FLIGHT PATHS – Extant (Online review)
The past and the present are brought together in Flight Paths, a piece which can, at first, seem disjointed but ultimately reveals its intricate design and some clever paralleling.
‘I can quite honestly say that I haven’t experienced the like before’: Snowflake: A Visual EP / Truth To Power Café (Online review)
Snowflake: A Visual EP and Truth To Power Café, two finalists for the OnComm Innovation category, couldn’t be more different.
‘Brings some cheer to dull January days’: PRESS PLAY HERE – Theatre Royal Stratford East (Online review)
Choose your own programme with some mini delights in and around the Theatre Royal Stratford East building thanks to Press Play Here.
‘Exploring difficult topics like addiction through drama can hoist warning flags’: ROSEGOLD / GOOD ENOUGH – Online@TheSpaceUK (Online review)
Donna Kay Yarborough and Ted McGrath are to be applauded for putting their monologues Rosegold and Good Enough about coming through the rigours of addiction online.
‘Getting up close & personal is often what the style demands’: AVALANCHE / WALK OF SHAME (Online review)
Two short plays about a difficult subject, Bloom Theatre’s Avalanche and Glass Half Full’s Walk Of Shame.
‘Would transfer well to a live onstage situation’: CUPID’S CORNER (Online review)
OnComm nominated production Cupid’s Corner features a young, committed ensemble cast which demonstrates potential.
‘There are some memorable songs’: PUBLIC DOMAIN – Southwark Playhouse (Online review)
Public Domain is a verbatim musical winner which lifts the lid on life online and joins an august group of productions streamed from Southwark Playhouse. Strongly recommended.