Great Apes, originally written by Will Self and adapted for the stage by Patrick Marmion, played at east London’s Arcola Theatre in 2018 and is now available to stream online.
News, Reviews and Features
These are all of our in-house news and features as well as syndicated article excerpts from our 45+ theatre bloggers. You can also access All Our Mates' Posts in comprehensive list form and view individual author pages.
What musicals would you like to see in London? Love London Love Culture offers a selection
With uncertainty surrounding when theatres might be reopened, Love London Love Culture’s Emma Clarendon selects a few musicals that she would love to see revived in London.
NEWS: Open Air Theatre Regent’s Park will reopen in August with a special concert staging of Jesus Christ Superstar
Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre will be the first London theatre to welcome back audiences with a special concert staging of their production of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Jesus Christ Superstar, running for six weeks from 14 August until 27 September 2020.
NEWS: Local lockdown unease leads to Six drive-in UK tour being cancelled
The drive-in tour of the hit musical Six, due to be performed across the UK in August and September 2020, has been cancelled due to concerns about local lockdowns.
NEWS: RSC confirms rescheduled programme for winter 2021
The Royal Shakespeare Company has confirmed full performance dates for its previously scheduled productions of The Magician’s Elephant and The Wars of The Roses Part 1 and 2 which will now take place in Winter 2021.
‘There’s some interesting use of technology’: GUANTANAMO BOY/HER – Half Moon Theatre (Online review)
I noticed that there were a pair of Half Moon Theatre productions – Guantanamo Boy and her – which involved Brolly, a collaboration between designer/illustrator Rachana Jadhav and writer/director Dominic Hingorani for whom design is a key element and who integrate live performance with digital technologies.
‘Death haunts this play as surely as it does Hamlet’: How significant is the role of Hester in The Deep Blue Sea?
Like Shakespeare’s greatest play, The Deep Blue Sea is grief channelled into art, aligning Hamlet and Hester as two souls enveloped by death and choosing whether to live.
NEWS: Donmar Warehouse will reopen temporarily with socially distanced sound installation featuring Juliet Stevenson
The Donmar Warehouse is to reopen temporarily from 3 to 22 August 2020 with a socially distanced sound installation – Blindness, based on the dystopian novel by Nobel-prize winning José Saramago, adapted by Simon Stephens and directed by Walter Meierjohann.
‘A glimpse at the darker side of creative genius:’ Mood Music – The Old Vic (Online review)
It is not often that we see the messy workings of entertainment law and intellectual property that lurk behind the glossy exterior of the music industry.
‘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.
‘A well-crafted drama with an important message’: THE TAILOR-MADE MAN (Online review)
The Tailor-Made Man was turned into a musical in 2013. This current iteration was filmed in 2017 at the White Bear Theatre when a 25th anniversary production was mounted.
NEWS: Edinburgh Festival Fringe announces 2020 digital programme
Following the announcement that the Edinburgh Festival Fringe will not be going ahead as planned in 2020, the Fringe Society has unveiled alternative digital plans taking place this summer.
‘Helen McCrory is on fine form’: THE DEEP BLUE SEA – National Theatre At Home (Online review)
In the case of The Deep Blue Sea I find myself firmly sitting on the fence. Good performances? Mostly. Fine production? Mainly. Great play? The jury’s still out.
‘A wonderfully vibrant fundraising concert’: TURN UP LONDON – Online review ★★★★★
Fundraising concert Turn Up London, organised by Nicole Raquel Dennis and Ryan Carter, is a powerful reminder of how music and words can unite people as well as put across serious messages.
‘Penhall beautifully & subtly unravels the increasing bullying behaviour’: MOOD MUSIC – Old Vic (Online review)
Covering a diverse range of issues such as passion, creativity, power and control, Mood Music has many great elements – but can feel repetitive.
‘She is likeable, forthright & hilarious’: IN CONVERSATION WITH MIRIAM MARGOLYES (Online review)
Raising funds for her beloved Omnibus Theatre (a treasure based in a former public library on the edge of Clapham Common), Miriam Margolyes proves to be every inch the entertainer and raconteur in her In Conversation With.
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’It is crystal clear that the cast are loving every moment’: JOSEPH & THE AMAZING ALL STAR CONCERT (Online review)
Joseph and the Amazing All Star Concert brings cast members from across the world together virtually for an all too brief sing-song that will have you dancing in your seat.
’It’s perfect to adapt for the internet’: Writers Henry Roadnight & Adam Johnson on musical theatre web series Third Wheel
Writers Henry Roadnight and Adam Johnson have set about adapting their musical Third Wheel into an online production.
‘A timely piece of writing’: MOOD MUSIC – Old Vic (Online review)
Mood Music is a timely piece of writing highlighting, as it does, questions of creativity, control, ownership, capitalism and personal well-being.
‘I can’t wait until they are able to perform live again’: OEDIPUSSY – Spymonkey
Like the virus, Spymonkey’s brand of comedy in shows like Oedipussy has proved highly infectious over the last couple of months but at the same time it has also become a regular weekly vaccine against the blues.