Practice of Zen considers the traditions, practicality, sensuality and strength of swordplay and resilience. Performed in Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles, this piece by Theatre Ronin of Hong Kong brings back the spirit of Wuxia through folklore and emotional connection.
‘Chatty, open & brave’: SHATTERED – Brighton Fringe (Online Show) ★★★★
Diana Varco brings her own experiences to this one-woman show, now streaming at the Brighton Fringe. The topics of abuse and sexual assault may not be an obvious choice for comedy, but Varco delivers her story in the form of a stand-up routine across 54 minutes.
‘Conniving, twisted, lost, confused; I feel sorry for him’: Maximus Polling on Dorian Gray
Maximus Polling reprises his titular performance as the ever-youthful Dorian in Blue Devil Theatre’s award-winning adaptation, transferring to Drayton Arms Theatre from 19 October.
NEWS: Brighton Fringe hit The Tragedy of Dorian Gray transfers to London’s Drayton Arms
The Tragedy of Dorian Gray, Ross Dinwiddy’s acclaimed 1960s-set reimagining of Oscar Wilde’s classic tale, transfers to London next month after its OffFest Award-winning success at this year’s Brighton Fringe.
NEWS: Lita Doolan’s show Ain’t No Female Romeo about ‘searching for love beyond social media’ joins the digital Edinburgh Fringe
It wasn’t long ago that My Theatre Mates was chatting to award-winning writer Lita Doolan about one of her plays receiving its world premiere at this year’s Brighton Fringe. Now, she is celebrating the opening of the first ever digital Edinburgh Festival Fringe with the inclusion of her solo show Ain’t No Female Romeo.
NEWS: Brighton Fringe run of Lita Doolan’s critically-acclaimed play The Wyre Lady Of Fleetwood is extended
It was already pretty exciting for writer Lita Doolan that her play The Wyre Lady Of Fleetwood was having its world premiere at this year’s Brighton Fringe, but now she has even more to celebrate with the announcement that the popular digital show has been extended until 11 July 2021.
‘Excellent rapport between the characters’: THE SYSTEM – Brighton Fringe
Sweet Sorrow Theatre Company brings Edward Loboda’s play The System to Brighton Fringe in a Zoom re-recording of a show they originally streamed in 2020.
‘Deeply poetic & poignant’: AM I A TERRIBLE PERSON? – Brighton Fringe
Ant Lightfoot’s Am I A Terrible Person? takes an honest look at OCD and mental illness. At just 23 minutes it’s a tough call to get through all the issues but there isn’t a wasted moment here.
‘No denying that this is a show like no other’: A RED SQUARE – Brighton Fringe ★★★★
Australian collective Pony Cam has created a fringe show unlike any other, with sex, violence, a lost child, and the perils of being an actor, all played out by the central character, A Red Square.
INTERVIEW: Ross Dinwiddy on how his Dorian Gray moved from “simple vanity to dangerous clinical narcissism”
“It’s been overwhelming and quite humbling to be frank.” Ross Dinwiddy has been taken aback by audience responses to The Tragedy of Dorian Gray at Brighton Fringe. Read what he has to say about updating the Wilde classic, the effect of Covid and filming the show, then book your tickets!
‘Works just as well as an audio experience as a visual show’: THE FINAL APPROACH – Brighton Fringe (Online review)
Marlowe Productions brings a 70-minute livestream to Brighton Fringe (now available on demand until 27 June) which dips into the world of 1940s noir and pulp detective novels to take us into the world of sleep deprivation in the mid-1960s. This story, The Final Approach, though, is not that story.
‘Pulling the audience into the story’: CHARLOTTE BRONTE SNARES THE SUITOR – Brighton Fringe (Online review) ★★★★
Lemon Squeeze Productions and Feegle Films return to the Brontë family, following At Home With The Brontës, for their latest production online at the Brighton Fringe, Charlotte Brontë Snares The Suitor.
‘An excellent adaptation’: THE TRAGEDY OF DORIAN GRAY – Blue Devil Productions (Online review) ★★★★★
A new spin from Blue Devil Productions on the Oscar Wilde novel puts the story of Dorian Gray in the art, theatre and music world of the 1960s.
‘All the more relevant in a post-Brexit world’: THE WYRE LADY OF FLEETWOOD – Brighton Fringe (Online review)
In Lita Doolan’s new play The Wyre Lady of Fleetwood, the Wyre Lady refers to a real-life pleasure boat in the seaside fishing port of Fleetwood, just down the promenade from the holiday resort of Blackpool.
NEWS: ‘Storytelling bonanza’ The Wyre Lady Of Fleetwood by Lita Doolan is making a big impression at the Brighton Fringe
‘It was the most touching play of deep interactions and conversations about painful but loving memories.’ Those words come from one of several impressed reviewers that have caught up with the world premiere of multi-award-winning writer Lita Doolan’s play The Wyre Lady Of Fleetwood – about the gentrification of Fleetwood fishing lofts – which continues online at this year’s Brighton Fringe until 11 July 2021.
‘Disturbing & edgy’: JERK – Brighton Fringe (Online review) ★★★★
Jerk is Nick Edgeworth’s curious and original sci-fi-influenced drama from Mudlarks Theatre, a company based in Hampshire. It’s currently showing in the Brighton Fringe and is written by Nick Edgeworth.
‘Genuinely funny & fairly caustic’: HALF-BAKED ALASKAN – Brighton Fringe (Online review)
There’s serious material in Sally Ann Hall’s Half-Baked Alaskan, but delivered with a wry, confessional, style which makes its point without getting too heavy.
‘Throws us straight into the heart of the story’: DEVIL’S FOOD CAKE – Brighton Fringe (Online review)
Written, rehearsed and filmed in lockdown, Marcia Kelson’s Devil’s Food Cake sensitively shines a light on the impact of an eating disorder on one ordinary family.
’It was good to see some fresh perspectives’: Am I A Terrible Person? / Doody (Online review)
Following a rather busy week there was only time yesterday to dip a toe into the waters at the Brighton Fringe (see what I did there?). Quite by chance I came across a pair of short solo plays which dealt with the same subject but did so from quite different perspectives; the subject in question being male mental health.
‘Goes for the jugular in a fascinating & visual way’: QUIET LITTLE THINGS – Brighton Fringe (Online review) ★★★★
Quiet Little Things, a very clever, well-crafted and moving non-verbal piece from OddHouse Theatre Company (an emerging feminist collective), is currently available to stream at the Brighton Fringe.