The Normal Heart is a play of fights. Set in the early 1980s in New York, gay men are dying, but gay activist Ned Weeks is struggling to get anyone to do anything.
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
‘It carries with it a powerful message’: IS GOD IS – Royal Court Theatre ★★★★★
Two actors on stage describe their characters as if the direction in the playtext is part of the script. It is the first of many quirks in Aleshea Harris’ dark revenge comedy Is God Is.
‘Digital gives huge opportunities to change the industry in a positive way’: RevStan interviews PR guru Chloe Nelkin on theatre creativity during lockdown and its legacy
Chloe Nelkin has run theatre, arts and opera PR company, Chloe Nelkin Consulting, for 10 years, and we sat down to talk about how theatres responded during lockdown and what the legacy will be. I also asked her what we should look out for and what she’s most looking forward to seeing.
‘The superb script is compellingly brought to life’: THE MEMORY OF WATER – Hampstead Theatre ★★★★
The three sisters in Shelagh Stephenson’s play The Memory of Water – Teresa (Lucy Black), Mary (Laura Rogers) and Catherine (Carolina Main) – have gathered at their mother’s home ahead of her funeral.
‘Like watching a cross between Waiting For Godot and Noises Off’: THE TWO CHARACTER PLAY – Hampstead Theatre
The Two Character Play at London’s Hampstead Theatre was at times interesting and enjoyable and at others frustrating and perplexing.
‘Witty, weighted & lyrical’: LAVA – Bush Theatre ★★★★
Last year a critic described a dramatic response to the Black Lives Matter protests, to which Benedict Lombe contributed, as ‘more lecture than theatre’. The quote is projected onto the set of her debut play, Lava, at the Bush Theatre.
‘It is an intoxicating world’: ANNA X – Harold Pinter Theatre ★★★★★
Anna X by Joseph Charlton is a fresh, contemporary play set in New York that explores identity and acceptance in the modern age.
‘Packs a powerful punch’: J’OUVERT – Harold Pinter Theatre
J’Ouvert bursts onto the stage and it is the theatre experience I’ve been waiting to get back to. Theatre that can pack a powerful punch and do it while at the same time be entertaining.
‘The promised tension is never realised’: WALDEN – Harold Pinter Theatre
I really wanted to like Walden, it was my first trip to the theatre since they were last open in early December, but it just didn’t deliver the promised tension and drama.
Rev Stan’s Lockdown London walks lead to the Old Red Lion Theatre
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.
‘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.