There are great intentions at work here, but the initial concept is flawed – ultimately it undermines the power that the internet and technology gives to the alt-right.
‘We participate, without feeling invaded’: CRY BLUEBERRY – Cockpit Theatre
The story is set in 1930’s America, where Blueberry the clown has just been left by his wife. He takes us on a journey of redemption, knitting his memories with an honest reflection of his present.
Audiences & addiction in People, Places & Things
A second, transatlantic viewing proves just how thoroughly the production theatricalises addicts’ experiences in order to generate audience empathy with the struggle to overcome addiction.
Could Hamilton become the new symbol of the Leave campaign?
This pro-immigration, hip-hop reinvention of the all-American musical about a country gaining independence from a distant, tyrannical overlord resonates rather differently in Brexit Britain than it does in America. Forget the NHS bus – could Hamilton be the new symbol of the Leave campaign?
‘Charm & wit’: Ordinary Days – Drayton Arms Theatre
There is the glorious Deb. A semi-neurotic slice of contemporary crisis. Nora Perone completely nails the role with her excellent vocals and comic timing.
On Christian Slater & finding the alpha male in Glengarry Glen Ross
The Playhouse Theatre seems to attract a big American star at least once a year; this year it’s the turn of Christian Slater who takes on the lead role in the latest revival of Glengarry Glen Ross, David Mamet’s brutal two-act story of property salesman in 80s America.
INSIGNIFICANCE – Arcola Theatre
As we enter the Arcola main stage, we are presented with a hotel room in midtown Manhattan circa 1954. Albert Einstein sits on the bed going over some notes on his legal pad.
THE TOXIC AVENGER – Arts Theatre
I’ve seen sexist theatre. I’ve seen ableist theatre. But it’s rare to come across a show that is so openly and unashamedly both of these things.
TALK RADIO – Old Red Lion Theatre
First produced Off-Broadway in 1987, Eric Bogosian’s brilliant drama has finally been produced in London for the first time by Covent Garden Productions and the Old Red Lion Theatre.
CHANGELING – #EdFringe
Mowgli, a ferocious boy-child raised by wolves in the jungle, has been kicked out of the pack. He’s trying to figure out what to do next when he meets a mysterious creature from another world – or rather, another story.
GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY – Old Vic Theatre
The music they listen to, and that which seeps from them with aching melancholy, is by Bob Dylan – written decades after the Great Depression ended. Combined with Conor McPherson’s earthy, Celtic script of imagery-laden prose, Girl From the North Country is not a musical.
DOUBLE DOUBLE ACT – Unicorn Theatre
What happens when two experimental performance artists join forces with a few kids to make a kids’ show? Utterly delightful, if messy, madness. 1990s Nickelodeon is a clear influence, as are fart jokes, poo, time bending and parallel universes.
HIR – Bush Theatre
Issac is returning home after a three-year stint as a US marine where his job was to pick up body parts after front line attacks. He longs for the peace and quiet of his nuclear family and the familiarity of middle America so he can make peace with the demons of war.
THE ENCHANTED – Bunker Theatre
This is a pretty piece of expressionistic theatre that pleases the eyes and ears, but its favouring of poetic ambiguity and metaphor over concrete details and characterisation creates emotional distance. It’s difficult to find sympathy for a psychopath when their childhood trauma is nostalgically romanticised or vaguely alluded to when we see so little of them directly.
FLIGHTS OF FANCY – Soho Theatre
Taking a cabaret-style approach lends itself to the wonderfully disparate stories – Korean Culture camp as a child, hanging out in Seattle’s cafes, a layover in Korea, and internet dating all feature along with other topics and tales.
FLIGHTS OF FANCY – Soho Theatre
Taking a cabaret-style approach lends itself to the wonderfully disparate stories – Korean Culture camp as a child, hanging out in Seattle’s cafes, a layover in Korea, and internet dating all feature along with other topics and tales.
THE BAD SEED – Brockley Jack Studio Theatre
Rhoda is the picture-perfect 1950s American child. Obedient, clever and helpful, she is a dream for any parent. But after the death of a classmate who won the penmanship medal Rhoda coveted, mum Christine’s investigations into past “accident” uncover a dark secret from her own childhood that means Rhoda isn’t all that seems.
CELEBRATION, FLORIDA – Touring
Shows incorporating technology have become more and more common recently. This experimental show, Celebration, Florida, features two unrehearsed performers wearing headphones.
TESTAMENT – Vaults
By setting all three of his stories within the Bible Belt of present day America, Bernays’ biblical figures have one foot set in the realm of faith and the other in the world of 21st century attitudes.
THE UNDERSTUDY – Canal Cafe Theatre
A long lost Kafka play is having its premiere on Broadway. Two big Hollywood action stars are playing the leads, but the fickle nature of unseen Bruce means they’ve had to cast Harry as an understudy.
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