With Windrush Day being 22 June, last week was originally going to be the opening night of Roy Williams’ new Hampstead Theatre play, The Fellowship, until plans had to be changed because Lucy Vandi, who was to play the main character, fell sick and performances were postponed. Cherrelle Skeete bravely takes on this major role and her dynamic stage presence, partly with script in hand on press night, is one of the evening’s highlights.
‘There’s a joyous post-pandemic vibe about this gig’: BANGERS – Soho Theatre
Bangers at the Soho Theatre has a fine buzz of the contemporary and a real sympathy for sexual confusion and other experiences such as the loss of a parent.
‘Intricate without being illuminating’: THAT IS NOT WHO I AM – Royal Court Theatre
if you buy a ticket you will not see That Is Not Who I Am by Dave Davidson (who doesn’t exist), but instead you will experience Rapture by Lucy Kirkwood, who is an established playwright. It’s a kind of postmodern, post-truth gimmick. But does it work?
‘An excellent piece of deeply felt new writing’: HOUSE OF IFE – Bush Theatre
Beru Tessema’s drama House of Ife, about an Ethiopian-British family facing a tragic loss, is deeply felt and emotional and marks a good start to this venue’s 50th anniversary season.
‘Good to hear new voices’: LOTUS BEAUTY – Hampstead Theatre
Satinder Chohan’s Lotus Beauty at the Hampstead Theatre, a loving portrait of a Punjabi family-run beauty parlour in west London’s Southall, is an uneasy mix of comedy and tragedy.
‘A bit of a muddle’: MIDDLE – National Theatre
David Eldridge’s trilogy about relationships, which started in 2017 with the hit show Beginning, now reaches its second part with Middle, which has opened at the National Theatre.
‘Entertaining in its populist stress on feelgood comedy’: THE CORN IS GREEN – National Theatre
Even 20th century drama is under threat. So can the National Theatre buck this trend with this rediscovery of The Corn Is Green, and some help from its star, Nicola Walker?
‘A disappointingly toothless & rather dreary non-satire’: SCANDALTOWN – Lyric Hammersmith
Mike Bartlett is very prolific, but this Restoration-style satire on society at London’s Lyric Hammersmith is sadly timid and predictable.
‘Portrays the male black British experience with joy as well as pain’: For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy – Royal Court Theatre
Ryan Calais Cameron does it again: he portrays the male black British experience with joy as well as pain.
‘Ruth Wilson plays her part to perfection, a masterclass in control and variation’: THE HUMAN VOICE – West End
Ruth Wilson delivers an acting masterclass in Jean Cocteau modernist classic adapted by Ivo van Hove.
‘This is an entertainment that is lit up by the excellence of its acting’: COCK – West End
Mike Bartlett’s Cock invites suggestive comments, but the main thing about the play is that it has proved to be a magnet for star casting.
‘Platonic love is perhaps the hardest kind of emotion to write about well’: SHEDDING A SKIN – Soho Theatre
Feel the love as great staging enlivens this well-written monologue about a cross-generational relationship.
‘In this buzzing show, no one stands still’: RED PITCH – Bush Theatre
Effortlessly and energetically entertaining: Tyrell Williams’ debut play about football and gentrification is pitch-perfect.
‘A brilliant example of a post-dramatic play’: THE FOREST – Hampstead Theatre
Florian Zeller’s superbly anti-naturalistic play is a philosophical puzzle that dissects our existential solitude.
‘Bewitching & beguiling, buzzing in my mind’: THE GLOW – Royal Court Theatre
Bizarre, beautiful and breathtaking – time-travelling fantasia boasts a brilliant staging and a spoof playtext essay.
‘An intelligent & enjoyable example of contemporary political theatre’: THE 4th COUNTRY – Park Theatre
History is a prison. Often, you can’t escape. It imprints its mark on people, environments and language. And nowhere is this more true that in Northern Ireland.
‘A fine slice of time travel with an eye on contemporary political malaise’: BEST OF ENEMIES – Young Vic Theatre
James Graham’s latest history play has an eye on the present but a messy staging.
‘This revival of an American classic is both relevant & fun’: TROUBLE IN MIND – National Theatre
Race, rage and relevance: sensitive revival of American writer Alice Childress’ 1955 anti-racist play shines bright.
‘A farcical comedy or a serious anatomy of our septic isle?’: MANOR – National Theatre
Moira Buffini’s ambitious state-of-the-nation, climate-change play runs straight into the doldrums.
‘A perfect tour de force of visual, intellectual & emotional pleasure’: DEATH OF ENGLAND: FACE TO FACE – National Theatre/Sky Arts
One of the absolute highpoints of new writing in the past couple of years has been the Death of England trilogy.