The family tragedy at the heart of A Kind Of People is emotionally powerful but also oddly incomplete and unsatisfying.
‘A crazy delight’: TWO LADIES – Bridge Theatre
There’s excellent acting in Two Ladies, a play that tickles the senses and the intellect by playfully morphing from one genre to another.
‘Sufficient scares to get the blood pumping’: THE EXORCIST – Touring
The Exorcist is a little flabby, even at a short 100 minute running time, and it never matches the nerve-shredding tension of the movie version, but there are sufficient scares to get the blood pumping.
‘Impressive, even dynamic evening’: DEATH OF A SALESMAN – Young Vic ★★★★
For Death of a Salesman, one of Arthur Miller’s greatest plays about the hollowness of the American Dream, Marianne Elliott and Miranda Cromwell and their cast make it an impressive, even dynamic evening that lacks some subtleties but is never less than gripping.
‘It’s more than enough that this eye-opening production exists at all’: DEATH OF A SALESMAN – Young Vic
It’s Marianne Elliott’s impressionistic approach that yields considerable insight into the themes of Death of a Salesman, the characters’ attachment to material possessions as indicators of success, and most especially to the physical home that contains their family history, which they have spent decades slowly paying-off.
‘Without doubt, this is the theatre event of the year’: A GERMAN LIFE – Bridge Theatre
Maggie Smith is absolutely triumphant in this memoir of a Berlin secretary in the Nazi era, A German Life at the Bridge Theatre.
REVIEW ROUND-UP: Home, I’m Darling at Duke of York’s Theatre
Love London Love Culture rounds up the reviews for Laura Wade’s play Home, I’m Darling which has transferred to the West End.
‘Less twisted & funny than simply tiresome and tedious’: A VERY VERY VERY DARK MATTER – Bridge Theatre
Very very very feeble: Martin McDonagh’s latest play, A Very Very Very Dark Matter at the Bridge Theatre, is poorly written, self-plagiarising and lacks imagination.
‘A fine mixture of interesting ideas & emotional desolation’: HOME, I’M DARLING – National Theatre
Laura Wades’s return to the stage is a bright satire about marriage and nostalgic fantasy
The post Home, I’m Darling, National Theatre appeared first on Aleks Sierz.
‘Brilliantly acted production’: THE WRITER – Almeida Theatre
The Writer makes a strong case for theatre as a place to debate the most urgent issues of the day and prove that, for some women, experimenting with form is not an option, but a necessity.
‘A superlative production’: THE WAY OF THE WORLD – Donmar Warehouse
This is a stylish, yet thoroughly accessible, production that is full of energy and a joyous satirical thrust that never obscures the real human emotions at the story’s core. Let’s hope that this production is the first of many Restoration revivals.
‘Plenty of potential here’: THE WAY OF THE WORLD – Donmar Warehouse
The Donmar’s new version of William Congreve’s play has plenty of musings on marriage and the role of women which still feel extremely pertinent; it just needs to even out the tone to make this restoration comedy really fizz.
NEWS: Stage version of The Exorcist transfers to West End in time for Halloween TICKETS ONSALE
Forty-five years after William Peter Blatty’s best-selling novel terrified an entire generation, The Exorcist will be unleashed onto the West End stage for the very first time, opening at the Phoenix Theatre in October.
TERROR – Lyric Hammersmith
Can the theatre be a courtroom? A good public place to debate morality and to arrive at profound decisions? You could answer this with a history lesson that ranges from the ancient Greeks to more recent tribunal plays in the 1960s and 1990s.
DON JUAN IN SOHO – West End
Updating the classics is not without its pitfalls. How can a modern audience, which has a completely different set of religious beliefs, relate to a 17th-century morality tale in which the lead character behaves badly, and I mean really badly, but gets his comeuppance by being roasted in hell fire?
THE KID STAYS IN THE PICTURE – Royal Court
The beauty of fiction is that its stories have both compelling shape and deep meaning — they are dramas in which things feel right and true and real. The trouble with real life is that it’s the opposite: it is messy, frequently shapeless and often meaningless.
THE KID STAYS IN THE PICTURE – Royal Court
The beauty of fiction is that its stories have both compelling shape and deep meaning — they are dramas in which things feel right and true and real. The trouble with real life is that it’s the opposite: it is messy, frequently shapeless and often meaningless.
RENT – Touring
There is plenty of energy and spectacle in Bruce Guthrie’s 20th anniversary production of Rent, but it is too careful and just too clean to fully persuade.
RENT – St James Theatre
St James Theatre, London
*****
Music, lyrics and book by Jonathan Larson
Directed by Bruce Guthrie
The cast of Rent
This 20th anniversary production of Rent is a heart wrenching piece of theatre that beautifully touches on the key themes of love, loss, addiction and the fear of living as HIV positive. It is engaging, touching and thought provoking.
Performed countless times across the globe, Rent can often descend into a self-indulgent performers’ showcase. Bruce Guthrie’s take on the show however is heavy on integrity, with the director exploring the psyche of each character, making the performances both believable and relatable. Alongside, Lee Proud’s mesmerizing choreography fits perfectly with both style and era.
Amidst a stark and rough scaffolding-based set and with the full orchestra on display, Anna Fleischle’s designs create an edgy feel that is aesthetically challenging, leaving one to focus on the drama.
Mark Cohen as played by Billy Cullen is beautifully watchable, embodying his character’s drive to succeed in his work but also constantly sending out the signals of his desperate need to be accepted by his friends. Ross Hunter’s silky, effortless vocals as Rodger Davies are a joy. His performance engages throughout, convincing in the chemistry that sparkles between him and Philippa Stefani’s Mimi. Stefani may have just transferred over from In the Heights but here she’s a completely different woman, displaying a stunning depth and emotional range. Her unravelling on stage is almost elegant, depicting her character’s agonising flaws as she struggles with her addiction and its dangers.
Lucie Jones’ Maureen is an unconventional gem. Her cooky, charismatic and confident charm is so suited to the character that she doesn’t struggle once to deliver on Maureen’s obvious sexuality and allure. As always, Take Me Or Leave Me brings the house down with stunning vocals from both Jones and Shanay Holmes as Joanne. Their delivery is entirely narrative driven rather than just being the shouting match that the number can so often suggest, as they make the song an intimate and passionate breakdown of a relationship between two fiery women.
Now virtually sold out in London, the production is soon to tour and for both Rent-heads and newbies it’s a treat. The entire company are outstanding – vocally, choreographically and emotionally.
Reviewed by Charlotte DarcyRuns until 28th January 2017 – Then on tour. Tour details herePhoto credit: Johan Persson
THE EXORCIST – Birmingham
There’s a well-earned hurrah (or should that be scream?) for this evening of hokum that’s currently playing in Birmingham over the Halloween fortnight. As the audience take their seats the house lights are gradually built up to a full on brightness before plunging the auditorium into a shriek-filled darkness and we’re off.
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