Doing the Macarena with the Queen of Hearts? But of course. Alice – A Virtual Theme Park does an excellent job of blending technical innovation with live theatre
‘Immensely enjoyable, fun-filled & ambitious’: ALICE: A VIRTUAL THEME PARK – Creation Theatre (Online review) ★★★★
Creation Theatre’s Alice: A Virtual Theme Park, a digital version of Wonderland, highlights just how possible it is to be as creative as possible but still retain the strength story.
LISTEN: What’s changed for female playwrights since My Mother Said I Never Should?
How much has changed for female playwrights since 1985 when Charlotte Keatley wrote her landmark play, My Mother Said I Never Should? Playwrights Tanika Gupta and Anna Jordan and Royal Court literary manager Christopher Campbell discuss with Terri Paddock at a post-show panel debate.
Text of the Day: My Mother Said I Never Should
Random and topical thoughts and quotes gathered by My Theatre Mates contributor Aleks Sierz, first published on www.sierz.co.uk.
MY MOTHER SAID I NEVER SHOULD – St James Theatre
This is a return to grand form for Lipman whose natural comic timing is best deployed undercutting the more strident statements and hinting at the unvoiced disappointments of marital life. She still needs a director brave enough to tell her that Manchester isn’t in the East Riding of Yorkshire and to drag her accent from native Hull to the other end of the M62, but it’s a finely detailed performance across a swathe of the century from tutoring piano lessons as a tetchy wartime martinet to the abandon of popping off her pop socks in an eighties Oldham garden.
MY MOTHER SAID I NEVER SHOULD – St James Theatre
Spirited revival of the 1980s feminist classic is a bit too shrill, yet also quietly moving when it matters.
MY MOTHER SAID I NEVER SHOULD – St James Theatre
A story of four generations of strong women, an exploration into the meaning of family, being a mother, a child, sister and grandmother. Do we learn from the mistakes we or others make or is it a series of conscious decisions influenced by the childhood we’ve had that shape us as adults.
MY MOTHER SAID I NEVER SHOULD – St James Theatre
Paul Robinson directs with sensitivity as Simon Slater’s sound and music enhance proceedings, with the production marking an impressive debut by producers Tiny Fires. Go see this play – the acting is sensational.
MY MOTHER SAID I NEVER SHOULD – St James Theatre
Say, first of all, that Maureen Lipman was born to play Doris, the Lancashire matriarch at the heart of Charlotte Keatley’s modern classic. In this revival she never misses a beat: without overdoing it Lipman can convulse an audience with a mere word (“Polytechnic” “End Terrace” ), or silence our breathing with a wrenching, gentle monologue expressing a hidden life.
NEWS: Maureen Lipman & Katie Brayben in My Mother Said I Never Should, 18 April
National treasure Maureen Lipman (Oklahoma, Outside Edge, See How They Run) and Olivier-award winning Katie Brayben (Beautiful – The Carole King Musical, King Charles III, American Psycho) will lead the cast in Charlotte Keatley’s My Mother Said I Never Should. They will be joined by Caroline Faber (The Taming of the Shrew, The Heiress, Hangover Square) and Serena Manteghi (The Railway Children). Presented by Tiny Fires Ltd, this is the first London revival of the play in over 25 years.
NEWS: St James premieres Atomic Bomb musical & Pianist play
London’s St James’ Theatre today announces its spring 2016 season, comprising: the UK premiere of critically acclaimed Blitz-set play with music The Pianist of Willesden Lane, the world premiere of explosive new musical Miss Atomic Bomb and the first London revival for over 25 years of Charlotte Keatley’s award-winning debut play My Mother Said I Never Should.