In tackling Homer’s The Odyssey, Bristol favourites Living Spit, known for their anarchic, slapstick takes on history’s great and infamous figures, ascend to the next level of ambition.
‘Heartfelt but flawed’: STRAY DOGS – Park Theatre
Olivia Olsen’s new play about Anna Akhmatova, the Russian poet who voiced the suffering of the people in Stalin’s Russia is heartfelt but flawed.
REVIEW ROUND-UP: Touching the Void at Duke of York’s Theatre
Love London Love Culture rounds up the reviews for Tom Morris’ production of Touching the Void which is now playing at the Duke of York’s Theatre .
‘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.
‘Sams’ adaptation is excellent’: WHAT’S IN A NAME – Touring ★★★★
What’s In A Name is a comedy-drama that’s packed full of great one-liners while maintaining a dark edge – the cast is uniformly excellent.
’Incredibly clever’: GAPING HOLE – Ovalhouse ★★★★★
Gaping Hole is an original work in which two writers/performers discuss popular plot holes and political lies.
‘This play is epic’: TOUCHING THE VOID – West End ★★★★★
Make no mistake, Touching The Void at the Duke of York’s Theatre is tantalising theatre & what David Greig has achieved in this adaptation is remarkable.
‘Compelling, piece of engaged political theatre’: TROJAN HORSE – Battersea Arts Centre & Touring
This touring production of Trojan Horse, a verbatim theatre piece about the Birmingham schools scandal, is absorbingly polemical and moving.
‘A show for the mischievous & open-minded’: LA CLIQUE – Leicester Square Spiegeltent ★★★★★
Christmas in Leicester Square has arrived with all its sparkles, mulled wine and red carpet, presenting the return of the award-winning, La Clique.
‘A riot of good cheer & some quite breathtaking stagecraft’: MARY POPPINS – West End ★★★★★
Mary Poppins is as supercalifragilisticexpialidocious as one can hope, a riot of good cheer, fun, excellent signing and some quite breathtaking stagecraft.
‘A fun & informative night of politics’: CRISIS? WHAT CRISIS – Colab Factory
What makes Crisis What Crisis special is the strong storyline and convincing performances in combination with game play.
‘A must for the film geeks among you’: GAPING HOLE – Ovalhouse
Gaping Hole at Ovalhouse is packed full of laughs and film references, it makes for an entertaining and quirky night of theatre.
REVIEW ROUND-UP: Mary Poppins at the Prince Edward Theatre
Richard Eyre’s production of the musical Mary Poppins has flown back into the West End – but what do the critics think of it?
‘Too much of what occurs on stage is simply invisible’: TOUCHING THE VOID – West End
The true story behind Touching The Void and the endeavours and trials that befell mountaineer Joe Simpson and his climbing partner Simon Yates on the Siula Grande mountain in the Peruvian Andes has been recognised in both Simpson’s 1985 bestseller and Film Four’s acclaimed docu-drama released some 18 years later.
‘Good old-fashioned entertainment at its best’: CURTAINS – Touring ★★★★★
Full of red herrings, marvellous music, divine dancing, stunning singing and laugh out loud funny, Curtains is a not just a musical whodunit it’s one of the best nights out I’ve had in a long time.
‘If it doesn’t get bought up for a film I’ll eat my Santa hat’: THE SEASON – Touring ★★★★
I was step-sprung, charmed by this miniature musical, The Season, by Jim Barne and Kit Buchan.
‘Opens up very real debates’: CRISIS? WHAT CRISIS – Colab Factory ★★★★
Parabolic Theatre‘s insightful and thought-provoking, immersive, political-inspired production of Crisis? What Crisis effectively sweeps the audience back to 1979.
‘As much the history of a nation as a family drama’: THE HOUSE OF THE SPIRITS – Cervantes Theatre ★★★★
Adapted by Caridad Svich from Isabel Allende’s award-winning novel and directed by Paula Paz, The House of the Spirits is as much the history of a nation as a family drama. While the country of the play is ‘unnamed’, for those in the know the parallels…
‘Never really grips the guts’: GOD’S DICE – Soho Theatre
Believe in ideas? David Baddiel’s new play God’s Dice stars Alan Davies as a scientist drawn to religion.
‘There’s a rollicking good time to be had here’: MARY POPPINS – West End
Really, in the end, Mary Poppins is the kind of production full of uncomplicated fun that can’t help but
uplift the soul in the most delightful way.