Last year I was introduced to the BalletBoyz and their show Them/Us moved me to tears. I was looking forward to their new show Deluxe which, fortunately, was filmed before theatres closed and is available to watch online.
Mates blogger: Rev Stan
Rev Stan is one of over 45 theatre bloggers who are part of the MyTheatreMates collective. This page features RevStan'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.
Revstan really is a reverend (it's amazing what you can buy on the internet) but not a man (the Stan bit is a long story). By day, she is a freelance editor and copywriter; at night, she escapes into the world of theatre and has been blogging about it at theatre.revstan.com since 2007. She says: “I'll watch pretty much anything, from something performed on a stage the size of a tea tray to the West End and beyond. The only exception is musicals. Tried 'em and they just don't do anything positive for me.”
The latest from RevStan on MyTheatreMates
‘Mixes sharp wit & clever satire with utter silliness & slapstick’: UPSTART CROW – West End ★★★★★
It doesn’t matter if you’ve never seen Ben Elton’s TV comedy series Upstart Crow (I hadn’t) as the stage play is a stand-alone piece
‘It is Cumming’s performance which you are drawn to’: ENDGAME – Old Vic ★★★★
It is stuffed dogs, ladders and individual performances in Endgame which stay with me rather than anything more philosophical about the human condition.
‘Meaty, emotional & funny play’: ALBION – Almeida Theatre ★★★★
Albion is a meaty, emotional and funny play with a superb Victoria Hamilton drawing out the complexity of Audrey, even if you don’t feel sorry for her.
‘Drama is somewhat lacking’: THE SUNSET LIMITED – Boulevard Theatre ★★★
Cormac McCarthy isn’t known for cheery topics as anyone who has sat through (or read) The Road will testify and his play The Sunset Limited is no exception.
‘Funny, haunting, moving & strangely uplifting’: YOU STUPID DARKNESS! – Southwark Playhouse ★★★★
Given everything that is going on in the world politically and environmentally You Stupid Darkness! feels like it has captured the mood, the battle to stay cheerful and hopeful when everything feels like it is falling apart.
Andrew Finnigan, Lydia Larson, Andy Rush and Jenni Maitland in You Stupid Darkne…
‘Emotionally vivid’: Lullabies for the Lost – Old Red Lion Theatre
Lullabies For the Lost is one of two plays by Rosalind Blessed about mental health that are being performed in rep at the Old Red Lion.
‘The atmosphere was one of unalloyed fun’: LEXICON – Roundhouse ★★★★
While I’ve seen circus shows with more thrilling moments, the air of carefree fun and mischief in Lexicon made me laugh out loud and put a smile on my face.
‘Enjoyable & gripping production’: THE DUCHESS OF MALFI – Almeida Theatre ★★★★
A magnetic stage presence, Lydia Wilson is a strong woman in The Duchess Of Malfi, clever, kind, stoic and justifiably angry. It makes her an all the more tragic figure.
10 plays from the past 10 years that stand out
Here is a snapshot of my favourite theatre from the past 10 years, the plays that stand out most in my memory, the ones I talk about if people ask.
‘Thought-provoking, challenging, gripping & entertaining’: A KIND OF PEOPLE – Royal Court Theatre ★★★★★
While A Kind of People generates a lot of laughter it is nonetheless an uncompromising reflection of modern British society that sometimes makes for uncomfortable viewing.
‘Fun & clever dark comedy’: TEENAGE DICK – Donmar Warehouse ★★★★★
Teenage Dick is one of those play titles you have to be careful mentioning or googling, a bit like Cock at the Royal Court – but it is wholly appropriate for Mike Lew’s play.
‘The beauty and rawness of it pull you in’: CYRANO DE BERGERAC – West End ★★★★★
The beauty and rawness of Cyrano de Bergerac pull you in and envelopes you and the performances combined with the tragedy of the story haunted me for days.
‘I loved the cheekiness of its approach’: LAND WITHOUT DREAMS – Gate Theatre ★★★
Land Without Dreams at the Gate Theatre is a surreal, existential meta ‘drama’ created by Danish company Fix & Foxy.
‘It is theatre that sends a powerful message’: QUEENS OF SHEBA – Touring ★★★★★
Queens of Sheba is a play of contrasts it is angry and joyous, fun and sad, quietly contemplative and in your face loud.
‘Great, grown-up entertainment’: LA CLIQUE – Leicester Square Spiegeltent ★★★★
There is a festive start to the La Clique cabaret of song and acrobatic show but naturally, it is ironic. This is the church of misfits and weirdos where difference is celebrated in a decadent, saucy and sometimes humorous way.
‘Tense, laugh out loud funny & heart-wrenchingly sad’: ON BEAR RIDGE – Royal Court Theatre ★★★★
A surreal, existential tragi-comedy, On Bear Ridge is at times tense, laugh out loud funny and heart-wrenchingly sad.
‘So pitch black that you struggle to see where the laughs are’: VASSA – Almeida Theatre ★★★
Vassa, adapted from Maxim Gorky’s original by Mike Bartlett, is a pitch-black comedy rather than a farce, so pitch black that you struggle to see where the laughs are.
‘Comedy doesn’t always stick’: THE MAN IN THE WHITE SUIT – West End ★★★
Sean Foley’s adaptation of the 1950s Ealing comedy The Man In The White Suit stars Stephen Mangan as clever but hapless scientist Sidney and Kara Tointon as Daphne, a posh, mill owner’s daughter.
‘It swells your heart & breaks it’: A DAY IN THE DEATH OF JOE EGG – Trafalgar Studios ★★★★
Peter Nichols’ 1967 comedy A Day In The Death of Joe Egg demonstrates both how far we’ve come in our treatment of and attitudes towards disability but equally how the moral dilemmas and struggles remain.