Viper Squad writer James Dillon’s new show Siren takes the tropes of the sci-fi horror genre (there’s a heavy debt to Alien here) and throws the audience into the middle of the action.
‘Uncannily accurate’: QUENTIN CRISP: NAKED HOPE – Stream Theatre (Online review)
The fourth and final Cultural Recovery Fund funded show from production company Seabright has been, like its predecessors, filmed at Wilton’s Music Hall before a live audience and is being streamed via stream.theatre. This is Mark Farrelly’s homage to wilful eccentricity and outré lifestyle Quentin Crisp: Naked Hope.
‘Valuable additions to the expanded series’: QUEERS – Old Vic (Online review)
The first new piece for Queers references a moment in history while the second takes a broader more contemporary sweep of recent events but what unites them is that they present the experiences of wider elements of the LGBTQ+ community who also happen to be black; the original series was rather under representative in this area.
‘Deservedly gets a standing ovation’: BLACK IS THE COLOR OF MY VOICE – Stream Theatre (Online review)
What makes Black Is The Color Of My Voice stand out from the crowd is Apphia Campbell’s performance which is multi-layered, dynamic and assured and, when she’s singing, spine-tingling.
‘Timely piece that deserves to keep having success’: A Super Happy Story (About Feeling Super Sad) – Silent Uproar (Online review)
Silent Uproar’s cabaret style show A Super Happy Story (About Feeling Super Sad) is a highly sensitive and nuanced performance which nails the debilitating effects of what is still a misunderstood condition.
‘A crack team of acting talent has been assembled’: THE GIRL NEXT DOOR – Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough (Online review)
The piece in question is Alan Ayckbourn’s The Girl Next Door which harks back to earlier plays such as Whenever, Miss Yesterday, Surprises and especially Communicating Doors in its central conceit of time travel.
‘Chance for a wider audience is undoubtedly a good thing’: LEATHER – Finborough Theatre (Online review)
The Finborough Theatre’s latest show to hit the ether is Leather which is now available on demand. It is a play which isn’t for the faint hearted and comes trailing clouds of notoriety as one of the first plays (if not THE very first) to highlight male rape, domestic violence and sado-masochism within the gay community.
‘Concentrate on the actual experience which is thoroughly enjoyable’: KNOT – Darkfield (Online review)
Simply called Knot, this is a three-part play which requires the listener to be at a specified (though general) location at a certain time, then to connect to an app and let Darkfield do the rest.
‘Concentrates on the indomitability of the human spirit’: LONE FLYER / ENG-ER-ALND – Jermyn Street Theatre (Online review)
Footprints Festival at Jermyn Street celebrates female empowerment
‘Beautifully memorialised’: ODE TO JOYCE – Jermyn Street Theatre (Online review)
Ode To Joyce is an enjoyable 75 minute celebration of the wit and wisdom of a self-effacing performer who did much to pave the way for a later generation of women to seize the comic nettle.
‘Will give pause for thought’: THE CLOAK OF VISIBILITY – The Space (Online review)
While The Cloak Of Visibility from The Space may not particularly break any new ground thematically or stylistically it is a solid enough piece which plays well and will give pause for thought.
‘Pushing the boundaries of audio work’: LIFTED – Written on the Waves (Online review)
45 North’s second series of Written On The Waves has opened with a trio of short plays under the collective title of Lifted. They are performed by the writers themselves who are all relatively new voices.
‘A diverting enough play to enjoy late at night’: BROKEN LINK – Brighton Fringe (Online review)
Noga Flaishon’s immersively creepy piece Broken Link for Harpy Productions uses Zoom and other modern tech to generally good effect to tell what is, essentially, a good old fashioned ghost story.
‘As much about life as it is death’: A Brief List Of Everyone Who Died – Finborough Theatre (Online review)
Quite apart from its quirky title, A Brief List Of Everyone Who Died, what immediately strikes the viewer is the elegance of the structure of this piece from American writer Jacob Marx Rice.
‘Ripe with oddball characters & well-crafted dialogue’: SEVERED HEADS (Online review)
Justin McDevitt’s plays for Severed Heads deal with forms of obsession and angst in which someone loses their head – often literally.
‘Certainly hits the mark’: HERDING CATS – Soho Theatre (Online review)
This is a timely revival of Herding Cats from the Soho Theatre who have pushed back the barriers to find another new way to innovate.
‘Ordinary people living through extraordinary times’: THE LINE – Public Theater (Online review)
Verbatim testimony from New York health workers in The Line demonstrates the problems faced are universal.
‘Thrilling & chilling’: ROCKY ROAD – Jermyn Street Theatre (Online review)
With some subtle Hitchcock references and more than a hint of Sam Shephard about it, Rocky Road, like its confectionery counterpart, is a sweet moreish treat with some hidden surprises.
‘Teeters on the edge of theatre as we used to know it’: Flavour Text / There’s Something Among Us – Chronic Insanity (Online review)
Two intricately constructed online pieces from Chronic Insanity push at the current boundary definitions of theatre.
‘They definitely get away with murder!’: A KILLER PARTY – Stream.Theatre (Online review)
A Killer Party is a camp musical comedy murder mystery based around the world of showbiz – what’s not to like?