London has an abundance of pub theatres, and the Old Red Lion in Islington is one of my favourites. The space is tiny with pew-like seating on two sides of the tea-tray sized stage.
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
‘Rich, multi-layered play that is clever in its storytelling’: OVERFLOW – Bush Theatre (Online review) ★★★★
Travis Alabanza’s play Overflow is set in the toilet of a club from where transgirl Rosie (Reece Lyons) has locked herself in.
‘What happens when the camera stops rolling & there is no self-editing?’: ALL BY MYSELF – Part of the Main Theatre Company (Online review)
All By Myself is a production by Part of the Main theatre company for Applecart Arts and it explores identity during the Covid crisis when your only connection to the outside world is via the internet.
Rev Stan marks the Young Vic’s 50th Birthday with a pick of her favourite productions
The Young Vic is celebrating its 50th birthday and while I’ve only been visiting since 2007-ish, I’ve seen many fantastic and memorable plays there in that time.
‘Gives Scott even more scope to sprinkle his performance magic’: THREE KINGS – Old Vic (Online review) ★★★★★
Three Kings, beautifully written by Stephen Beresford, gives Andrew Scott even more scope to sprinkle his performance magic. Created especially for the Old Vic’s In Camera season, it is described as a scratch performance but only the lack of embellishments like set and fancy lighting give any sign of this.
’An extraordinary piece of storytelling’: BLINDNESS – Donmar Warehouse ★★★★★
Blindness is adapted by Simon Stephens from a novel by José Saramago and tells the story of an epidemic in which people suddenly go blind.
‘A powerful exploration of Covid-19 & racism’: WE R NOT VIRUS – Omnibus Theatre (Online review)
Since the outbreak of the coronavirus, hate crime targeted at East and South-East Asians has tripled. We R Not Virus is a series of monologues, films and poetry responding to that.
‘It’s important to remain positive’: Brixton House’s Owen Calvert-Lyons on the future of fringe theatre post lockdown
Head of theatre and artist development at Brixton House (formally Ovalhouse*) Owen Calvert-Lyons talks about life during the lockdown, the post-Covid future for fringe theatre and streaming.
11 actresses I’d love to see onstage more often post-lockdown
While there might not be quite as many meaty stage roles for actresses as there are actors (is that changing?), the plethora of acting talent I’ve seen over the past 10 years made this quite tricky to narrow down.
After Matt Smith & Claire Foy in Lungs, here are 5 more plays perfect for the social distance treatment
The idea of re-performing Lungs while the actors safely socially distance got me thinking about other plays which have been performed over the past year or two that could be similarly revived.
‘A vivid kaleidoscope of culture & thinking’: BARBER SHOP CHRONICLES – National Theatre ★★★★★ (Online review)
You can’t beat the experience of sitting in a theatre watching a live performance, but one of the lockdown-positives is a chance to watch stuff I sadly missed and Barber Shop Chronicles is one of those.
10 plays that, in hindsight, feel strangely appropriate for lockdown during a pandemic
The coronavirus pandemic and lockdown has thrown a whole new light on certain plays, the ones about isolation, loneliness and surreal landscapes.
The best play I’ve seen for each of the past 10 years (aka the agony-to-choose list)
Not to let a decade of theatre bloggery go by without marking the occasion, to kick things off, I’ve compiled a list of my favourite play for each year I’ve been blogging. It has been fun revisiting my best-of lists but absolute agony narrowing each list down to just one.
‘You genuinely feel part of a shared experience’: THE TEMPEST – Creation Theatre (Online review)
‘We’ the audience help with sound effects or stand-in for mysterious creatures or provide props but if you don’t want to get involved it is easy to ‘sit out’ and just watch. The interaction is fun.
‘Proper stagecraft can be achieved even within the confines of a small screen’: Interview with Creation Theatre’s Lucy Askew
Creation Theatre this month invited audiences to watch an interactive, virtual version of Shakespeare’s The Tempest – from the safety of their sofa.
‘Truly beautiful, stunning & mesmerising to watch’: BALLETBOYZ: DELUXE – Sadler’s Wells (Online Review) ★★★★
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.
‘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.