A review of Ten Times Table by Alan Ayckbourn currently at Richmond Theatre . Still has resonance.
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
‘All a bit too minimalist’: BECKETT TRIPLE BILL – Jermyn Street Theatre
A man sitting behind a table, a man sitting on the edge of an unmade bed, two men sitting on a park bench. These are the settings in the Samuel Beckett Triple Bill currently at the tiny Jermyn Street Theatre and directed by theatre legend Trevor Nunn.
‘A valuable reminder of how far things have progressed’: COMING CLEAN – Trafalgar Studios
If I have understood the timeline correctly the latest incarnation of Kevin Elyot’s debut play Coming Clean is a revival of a revival.
‘Fails to be seriously entertaining’: THE WEATHERMAN – Park Theatre
“A meaningful play about a really important subject”. As I left the Park Theatre having watched Eugene O’Hare’s play The Weatherman, these were the sort of (overheard) comments I heard. Unfortunately, I could not altogether agree.
‘Splendidly sharp & biting satire’: BREXIT – King’s Head Theatre
A revival of the play Brexit at the King’s Head Theatre, Islington is very much of the moment and stirs some classic sitcom memories.
To be (onstage) or not to be (onstage)
Last night I found myself both onstage and in the audience at the same time – neat trick if you can do it and I have done… on more than one occasion.
‘It was just the most magical experience of reading a play’: Director Rob Ellis fills in the background on new play Cuttings at the Hope Theatre
Rob Ellis directs Ollie George Clark’s new play called Cuttings at London’s Hope Theatre which examines the hitherto unexplored backstage world of theatrical PR – a world that has become increasingly important with the rise of online social media.
A play about the writing & staging of a play has always been part of a popular genre
Inevitably writers will gravitate to the world they most often inhabit and about which they can speak with a degree of authority whether that be professionally, publically or privately.