Following the 5.30pm performance on Sunday 12 March 2023 at London’s Cockpit Theatre, Terri Paddock talks to cast and creatives of A Tailor for Ladies. Georges Feydeau’s early 1886 comedy A Tailor for Ladies is getting a rare London outing in a new modern adaptation performed by an international ensemble cast.
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.
‘About the confrontation between past & present’: THE CITY & THE TOWN – Touring
Playing for a few nights at Wilton’s Music Hall as part of a nationwide tour, Anders Lustgarten’s new play The City and the Town is about the confrontation between past and present, about the consequences of staying and leaving, and whether the ones who leave have any right at all to decide what happens to the ones who stay.
REVIEW ROUND-UP: The Merchant of Venice 1936 – Touring
Love London Love Culture’s Emma Clarendon discovers what critics have been saying about Brigid Larmour and Tracy-Ann Oberman’s new production of The Merchant of Venice 1936, currently on tour.
‘You couldn’t really ask for a more genuinely touching show’: THE GREAT BRITISH BAKE OFF MUSICAL – Noel Coward Theatre ★★★★
A British institution, Bake Off is may not seem like the most likely source for a musical but thankfully, its musical adaptation, The Great British Bake Off Musical at the Noel Coward Theatre, works incredibly well and is an easily digestible, heart-warming show and a love letter to the series so many love.
VIDEOS & PHOTOS: Clever parallels revealed in Terri Paddock’s post-show discussion at Southwark Playhouse Elephant’s opening show The Walworth Farce
For the first full production at Southwark Elephant, artistic director Chris Smyrnios has cleverly programmed this slick revival of leading Irish playwright Enda Walsh’s The Walworth Farce, which is set nearby, in a council flat on the Walworth Road.
‘There is plenty to ponder’: WOMEN, BEWARE THE DEVIL – Almeida Theatre
Women, Beware The Devil at the Almeida Theatre is a difficult play to pin down. It starts in the modern day with the ‘literal’ devil (Nathan Armarkwei-Laryea) breaking the fourth wall to lament how he isn’t evoked or blamed for anything anymore. He also cheekily spoils the plot of the play.
‘The physical damage & emotional destruction is vividly conveyed’: FOUR POEMS FROM UKRAINE – Finborough Theatre
Using examples from the past 180 years, Four Poems From Ukraine oscillates between poems performed in English (by actors in London and Toronto), and Ukrainian actors performing in their native language (with English subtitles), with filmed footage of the bombsites of Irpin.
‘Every public servant should see it. Every voter, too’: GRENFELL: SYSTEM FAILURE – The Tabernacle ★★★★★
Grenfell: System Failure at The Tabernacle isn’t just telling us about one tower, one fire, one multiple tragedy, but bristles with salutary warnings for politics, administration and simple professionalism across a range of duties and disciplines.
‘Truly life-enhancing stuff’: SLEEPOVA – Bush Theatre ★★★★
In the week which saw the Bush Theatre pick up two out of a possible five nominations in the Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre award category in this year’s Oliviers, the excellent West London venue has further cause for celebration with the opening of this sassy delight. As refreshing and spicy as an ice cold ginger beer on a sunny day, and as warm and lovely as a hug from a treasured friend, Matilda Feyiṣayọ Ibini’s irresistible sugar rush of a play Sleepova already looks like a strong contender for feelgood show of 2023.
‘Feels like a really essential piece of contemporary culture’: TRUTH’S A DOG MUST TO KENNEL – Battersea Arts Centre
Has theatre’s time passed? In Tim Crouch’s latest 70-minute show, Truth’s a Dog Must to Kennel, first staged at the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh last year and now at Battersea Arts Centre (BAC) in south London, the nature of live performance is interrogated by this innovative and imaginative theatre-maker, with a little help from a virtual reality headset and William Shakespeare.
NEWS: Attic Theatre’s premiere production of Roy Williams’ play All Roads tours London venues
Exploring what it means to love, grieve and build your own future, being young and Black British today, Attic Theatre Company’s production of Roy Williams’ new play All Roads receives its world premiere in March 2023, touring four London venues with a press night at New Wimbledon Theatre Studio on 14 March.
’An excellent, intimate production’: GRACELAND – Royal Court Theatre
As much as the character of Nina displays resilience and fortitude throughout Graceland at the Royal Court Theatre, she is also self-conscious and delicate. This balance, and Wong Davies’ lyrical writing, are what makes this an excellent, intimate production.
‘Sheridan Smith is completely born for this role’: Shirley Valentine, Duke of York’s Theatre ★★★★★
From the audience at the Duke of York’s Theatre, it’s clear that Shirley Valentine is a much loved story and after seeing Sheridan Smith’s performance, I think it’s only going to receive further love and praise.
‘Ludicrous, funny, then sinister’: THE WALWORTH FARCE – Southwark Playhouse Elephant
It is more than 15 years since Enda Walsh’s play The Walworth Farce arrived in London and, like many big hits, the scale of its popularity then has been matched by the speed with which it has been forgotten. It is well due a revival, and the Southwark Playhouse’s revival, directed by Nicky Allpress is exciting.
REVIEW ROUND-UP: Grenfell: System Failure at the Playground Theatre
Love London Love Culture’s Emma Clarendon takes a closer look at what is being said about the Playground Theatre’s production of Grenfell: System Failure, based on the Grenfell enquiry.
FROM DOWN UNDER: The Mousetrap in Melbourne
Spiffingly produced and splendidly acted, Agatha Christie’s evergreen whodunit The Mousetrap keeps audiences ever in its thrall. The scarcity of touring productions of plays makes this season even more of a treasure. Lovers of the murder mystery genre will find plenty to enjoy.
‘A stunning addition to the West End’: OKLAHOMA! – Wyndham’s Theatre ★★★★
One of the most exciting and invigorating productions of recent time, Oklahoma! at the Wyndham’s Theatre is truly a spectacle of theatre which uses a number of engaging elements to transform this old school show, into something which feels fresh and bracing.
‘Fantastically fun production’: THE FLYING BATH – Little Angel Theatre
Overall, The Flying Bath at Little Angel Studios is a fantastically fun production which has pretty much everything you could ask of an early years show. It’s a brilliant celebration of the joys of imaginative play and the unique dynamic of sibling relationships. It will no doubt inspire its young audiences to get creative at home, but be prepared to have a very messy bathroom afterwards.
‘The technical side is amazing’: Idiots Assemble: Spitting Image Saves the World – Birmingham
Idiots Assemble: Spitting Image Saves the World at Birmingham Rep may lack the satirical bite of the original series, but that could be because everyone is so unredeemingly awful without having to be made worse.
‘There are a lot of good lines here’: JUMPING THE SHARK – Touring
SITCOMS MADE US, BUT CAN WE MAKE THEM? It’s a very good idea, bang on the money: David Cantor and Michael Kingsbury (TV sitcom writers with a pedigree) set their play in a bland provincial hotel where five … Continue reading →