At the start of 2020, Southwark Playhouse commissioned five playwrights to pen brand new short plays for performance by the Elders Company, its weekly drama group for anyone aged 65 and over.
Mates blogger: Michael Davis
Michael Davis is one of over 45 theatre bloggers who are part of the MyTheatreMates collective. This page features Michael'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.
Michael Davis is a former actor and director. He’s passionate about fringe theatre and publicising shows that don’t necessarily receive mainstream attention. He’s previously reviewed for Female Arts and The Play’s the Thing and now runs his own site, Breaking the Fourth Wall. Michael is interested and knowledgeable about all aspects of the arts. He tweets @Michael30517721.
The latest from Michael on MyTheatreMates
‘Corinne Walker plays all the roles with aplomb’: ILLUSIONS OF LIBERTY – Applecart Arts (Online review)
Written by Lorna Wells and directed by Aisling Gallagher, Illusions of Liberty focuses on Liberty Jones (Corinne Walker) – a young cellist who has just had test results from doctors regarding her general state of ‘lethargy’.
‘The double-edged nature of liberty’: (FIRE) EMBERS (ASH) (Online review)
First performed on stage in 2015, (Fire) Embers (Ash) – which is written and directed by Hailey Mashburn – has been reimagined as an audio play for 2021.
‘Sound design & music play a major part in setting the scene’: Depths / If You Cry We Will Kill You / Read To Me – Living Record Festival (Online review)
As part of the digital Living Record Festival Covert Firmament’s contribution includes 40 separate plays and films, which are written and directed by Dan Horrigan. These include three audio plays – monologues that are very different to each other in terms of subject matter, but also in their execution.
’Has a ring of truth to it’: S-27 – Finborough Theatre (Online review)
To all the artistic directors out there, let’s have more plays like S-27 at the Finborough Theatre that have something to say about the world today.
‘Unapologetic about its candour’: ALL OF ME – China Plate Theatre (Online review)
Originally performed in Edinburgh in 2019, Caroline Horton’s All Of Me returns in two different formats – as an interactive digital version hosted on gaming platform Twine and as an audio version on Soundcloud. This particular review focuses on the audio incarnation of the show in November.
‘There’s a Lorca-esque quality to the proceedings’: CAPERUCITA – The Actors Centre (Online review)
While the play addresses the hopes and fears of those seeking to escape destitution (and achieve a better life), much like the fairy tale it mimics, Caperucita through its choreography and poetic use of language evokes a Lorca-esque quality to the proceedings.
‘We get to know these women’: THE ABSENCE OF SILENCE – Chickenshed Theatre (Online review)
The Absence of Silence is a frank examination of the impact of long-term physical and emotional abuse on women in relationships.
‘Especially pertinent at present’: LAST DAY – People Show (Online review)
Rather than veer down the road trod by films such as I, Daniel Blake, People Show’s Last Day addresses the ‘inconvenience’ of having a conscience if one is in middle management and the choices that one has to live with… or not.
‘Taking stock of human connection’: LOVE SCREENS – Open Ealing (Online review)
In OPEN Ealing’s Love Screens – three short plays that are written by Nicolas Ridley and directed by Anthony Shrubsall – relationships are placed under the microscope: those that have run their course, those that have remained in a state of inertia and those that may blossom, given the right circumstances.
‘Entertaining & engaging at an emotional level’: DON’T STOP THINKING ABOUT TOMORROW – Chickenshed Theatre (Online review)
Combining music and choreography with the spoken word, Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow is thoughtful in its conception and ambitious in its scope, looking at the ‘bigger picture’.
‘Continues to explore the themes of racial identity & femininity’: BLUE BENEATH MY SKIN: Alchemist Theatre Company (Online review)
The second entry in Alchemist Theatre’s ‘Writers On Hold’ series, Blue Beneath My Skin continues to explore the themes of racial identity and femininity.
‘Set at a time when suffragettes were regularly making headlines’: JANE CLEGG – Finborough Theatre ★★★★ (Online review)
While Ibsen’s A Doll’s House is arguably the first and most famous ‘modern’ play about female emancipation from an inequitable marriage, it’s certainly not the only drama to tackle this once-controversial topic.
‘Refreshingly unapologetic’: REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL – Graeae (Online review)
As an artist, Ian Dury is unique in the annals of British rock music. Contracting polio at the age of seven (which resulted in the paralysis of his left leg, shoulder and arm), Dury didn’t let this stop him from becoming an accomplished musician.
Depicting women from different walks of life: Glass Half Full’s lockdown monologues showcase
During lockdown, Glass Half Full Theatre have produced a series of monologues that depict women from different walks of life.
‘The story of a violinist takes on an introspective dimension’: AMSTERDAM – Orange Tree Theatre (Online review)
While world history is ‘officially’ about facts, in reality, it is an amalgamation of thousands of experiences into one coherent narrative.
‘The conflicted emotions of relationship aftermath’: LOVE (& LOSS) IN THE TIME OF CORONA – Sherman Theatre (Online review)
If one were to peruse social media as this time of ‘social distancing’, one thread that surfaces periodically is how hard it is for single people who have no human contact. There is, however, something more hellish – recently splitting up.
‘A tale that has a special resonance at a time of remembrance’: IT IS EASY TO BE DEAD – Finborough Theatre (Streamed Broadcast)
A young man whose life was cut short by the First World War, Charles’ poems marked him out of as one the pre-eminent wordsmiths of his time.
‘Women were sectioned on all sorts of non-medical pretexts’: BY THE LIGHT OF THE MOON – Online Fringe Festival
History shows that right up to the 20th century, women were ‘sectioned’ on all sorts of non-medical pretexts.
‘Packs a lot of ideas in its hour running time, which flies by’: BAABA’S FOOTSTEPS – Online Fringe Festival (Online review)
Far from being just a niche tale about familial connections, the play’s intersectionality provides greater depth in the questions and answers it broaches.