The Finborough has a rich and noble history of rediscovering lost dramatic gems, alongside their programme of new work (this year’s Bacon and Pennyroyal are two of my favourite new plays since theatres reopened post-pandemic), and Kate O’Brien’s family tragicomedy Distinguished Villa, seldom seen since its 1926 premiere, continues that line of programming.
NEWS: We round up the response to the latest tranche of Culture Recovery Fund grants awarded by the Government
More than 1,300 arts and cultural organisations have benefited from a share of £257 million as part of a vital financial boost from the Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund.
Decade Round-Up: The Plays
This isn’t a ‘best of’ list it’s my best-of list, these are the plays that shaped me this decade and will stay with me well into the next.
WATCH: Check out the new trailer for acclaimed deportational drama, Lunatic 19s
As the four-star hit production heads into its final weeks, check out the new trailer for Lunatic 19s – A Deportational Road Trip, Tegan McLeod’s drama set in Trump’s America, then book your tickets.
FEATURED SHOW: Check out the ★★★★ reviews for Finborough Theatre’s Lunatic 19s
“A gripping play” with performances that “shine” – Check out the stunning reviews for Lunatic 19s – A Deportational Road Trip. and discover why you should make a far more pleasant road trip of your own to see the show. Book your tickets now.
FIRST LOOK: Discover more about deportation drama Lunatic 19s with new production images
Neck braces, guns and lots of anguish – that’s what we initially take from Marian Medic’s new production images for Finborough Theatre’s world premiere of Tegan McLeod’s Lunatic 19s – A Deportational Road Trip. Check out the gallery, then book your tickets.
BEHIND THE SCENES: How to perfect the perfect pistol whip in Lunatic 19s rehearsals
It’s not every day that you’re taught to deliver a knockout blow with the butt of a gun, or, at least, appear to convincingly do so, but that’s what’s been happening in rehearsals for the world premiere of Tegan McLeod’s Lunatic 19s – A Deportational Road Trip.
NEWS: Finborough Theatre stages world premiere of deportation drama Lunatic 19s
Lunatic 19s – A Deportational Road Trip, the new play from young American playwright Tegan McLeod will have its world premiere at Finborough Theatre next month. Time to book your tickets!
Hurrah for pub theatres
Let’s hear it for pub theatres. Unheard of when I was a London teenager in the 1960s, there are now over 70 of them across the capital and they’re beginning to mushroom in other big cities too.
‘Constantly dreamlike’: INTO THE NUMBERS – Finborough Theatre
Elizabeth Chan’s performance as Iris Chang in Into the Numbers is a convincing portrayal of mental illness but the lack of background to her story doesn’t give the gravitas this production deserves.
LATE COMPANY – Trafalgar Studios ★★★★
This is a dinner that, much like Titus Andronicus’ endgame, is a meal that not one person around the table wishes to attend.
FOOD – Finborough Theatre
Is Food a southern Gothic? There’s sufficient bitterness, sex, abuse, plotting and stifled secrets to see it as such. Its themes are plenty dark enough, and warrant warnings for disordered eating and abuse of a minor.
LATE COMPANY – Finborough Theatre
Set around the dinner table of the bereaved parents, their guests for the evening are Bill and Tamara Dermot together with their son Curtis, a peer of Joel’s at school and the ringleader of the bullies who had taunted him to his death.
EVERYTHING BETWEEN US – Finborough Theatre
When a playwright has seemingly overnight success with one of their more recent works it seems natural to go back to a previously acclaimed work but when that work feels underdeveloped and lacking in depth it is a risky decision.
CASTE – Finborough Theatre
This 150th-anniversary production of T.W. Robertson’s Caste is unsure whether it wants to be a Victorian farce or a more naturalistic drama. The story still feels relevant today, can two people from different classes make a marriage work despite the judgement and attitude of others just because they love each other but with the odd exception none of the characters are explored beyond this one issue and it makes to an uneven 90-minute play.
INCIDENT AT VICHY – Finborough Theatre
Arthur Miller’s ‘forgotten’ play is timely revived by Phil Willmott. Set in a detention room in 1942 Miller’s 1964 play is the story of hope, rumour and sheer disbelief that anyone can be a victim because of their race.
I’M GONNA PRAY FOR YOU SO HARD – Finborough Theatre
At first glance, I’m Gonna Pray For You So Hard appears to be a somewhat self-indulgent glance into the life of David, an egotistical celebrated playwright complaining about a ‘hard done by’ life, whilst surrounded by a lavish and modern apartment, with a long standing marriage and a loving daughter.
VETERANS DAY – Finborough Theatre
Veterans Day is appropriately timed revival that shows not much has changed when dealing with members of the armed services post-conflict.
THE TRACKERS OF OXYRHYNCHUS – Finborough Theatre
The Trackers of Oxyrhynchus, Tony Harrison’s 1998 will either divide or conquer its audience with its intense performances and its rhyming couplets.
I failed to really research this production prior to seeing it. I waltzed in with my double G&T expecting an Edwardian drama about two Oxford dons in the Egyptian Desert I was soon surprised to get swearing, fake penises and rhyming couplets.
MY EYES WENT DARK – Finborough Theatre
“…If a country can’t protect the rights of its people, what can a man do? A man must stand up… A man must defend himself.” Matthew Wilkinson’s My Eyes Went Dark is an extraordinary piece of work. It tells the story of man, Nikolai Koslov (played by Cal MacAninch), who loses his wife and two young children in a plane crash that occurred when two planes collide mid-air.
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