Following the news of Paul O’Grady’s unexpected death, this specific performance of The Way Old Friends Do at London’s Park Theatre was dedicated to the comedian and drag legend, whose voice opens the show. Writer and star Ian Hallard paid tribute to O’Grady before curtain-up, and we started the post-show talk with Ian and director Mark Gatiss recalling how enthusiastically O’Grady recorded his voiceovers – despite not loving ABBA.
‘The cast is clearly having a (disco) ball’: THE WAY OLD FRIENDS DO – Touring
Expertly directed by the ever dependable Mark Gatiss, The Way Old Friends Do at the Park Theatre is a surprising delight which does what it says on the tin, and then a bit more.
‘Some of the twists are gasp-inducing’: THE CLINIC – Almeida Theatre ★★★
Tea drinking features heavily in Dipo Baruwa-Etti’s posh kitchen-set play The Clinic at the Almeida Theatre. But this tea may or may not have intoxicating or calming effects; even those who fervently dislike infusions get a taste for it. And that is The Clinic, a mix of contemporary family drama and something more difficult to put a finger on.
‘Will surely soon be a contemporary classic’: THE GIFT – Theatre Royal Stratford East & Touring
New touring play The Gift from Eclipse is a wonderfully complex and emotionally powerful account of race and Empire.
‘You can’t help falling in love with it’: PRINCESS & THE HUSTLER – Touring ★★★★
A few hours before press night, on Valentine’s morning, playwright Chinonyerem Odimba tweeted out that her new play Princess & The Hustler was a love letter to her Bristol, a city she fell in love with 20 years ago.
OF KITH & KIN – Bush Theatre ★★★
It doesn’t help that everyone’s so unlikeable – younger Oliver (Joshua Silver) is a self-centered underachieving queen with Disney fantasies, partner Daniel (James Lance) is an ex-heterosexual lawyer still pursuing the patriarchal role.