Looking across cultural representations of women in the past 100 years it is possible to draw connections between characters such as Hester Collier in Terence Rattigan’s The Deep Blue Sea, Patrick Hamilton’s Jenny from Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky, even up to Kyo Choi’s Kim Han-See in The Apology, all of whom are in pursuit of a fantasy life that will never be fulfilled. Pearl Cleage’s Blues for an Alabama Sky, opening at the National Theatre, adds another unknowingly tragic heroine to that list, singer Angel who will grasp at an opportunity to get out of Harlem in 1930.
‘Really gets to grips with the multiple meanings of its title’: MAD HOUSE – Ambassadors Theatre
Ambassadors Theatre, London – until 4 September 2022 For the second time in successive weeks an American family drama opens in the West End and while Jitney may be a less obvious group of characters, the premiere of Theresa Rebeck’s new play Mad House focuses on a more traditional dynamic. US theatre is filled with dysfunctional family dramas and the …
‘An excellent piece of deeply felt new writing’: HOUSE OF IFE – Bush Theatre
Beru Tessema’s drama House of Ife, about an Ethiopian-British family facing a tragic loss, is deeply felt and emotional and marks a good start to this venue’s 50th anniversary season.
‘The creativity & visual style really impress’: ASSEMBLY – Donmar Warehouse (Online review)
Assembly, the first production from the Donmar Local company, shows a lot of promise, combining an enthusiastic group of performers with a creative team eager to explore technical boundaries in the presentation of meaningful stories.
‘A bold theatrical experiment’: ASSEMBLY – Donmar Warehouse (Online review)
Assembly is a new piece in a livestream experiment that mixes live action, animation and sound. Initially planned to play live at the venue last July, it has now been reconfigured as an online show but still using the Donmar Local Company at the heart of the production.
‘A musical makeover that is far from obvious’: ADDING MACHINE – A MUSICAL – Finborough Theatre (Online review)
Finborough Theatre’s latest online offering is Adding Machine: A Musical, based on the American expressionist classic of the 1920s by Elmer Rice.
NEWS: The 2019 winners of The Stage Debut Awards are announced
The 2019 winners of The Stage Debut Awards, in association with Access Entertainment, were announced in a ceremony which took place at The Brewery, London this weekend.
‘Not only makes you perspire, but also cry’: SWEAT – West End
Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer-Prize-winning drama Sweat vigorously massages the wounded heart of rustbelt America.
‘Intelligent articulation of personal uncertainties & political doubts’: TRYING IT ON – Royal Court Theatre
On the 50th anniversary of 1968, David Edgar looks back at his younger self and explores the results of radical politics< in Trying It On at the Royal Court.
TRESTLE – Southwark Playhouse ★★★★
Stewart Pringle’s Harry and Denise fortuitously keep meeting over the trestle table in the local village hall rented out for evening classes and meetings. Harry is one of the backbone-of-the-community types. Denise runs the zumba class.
TRESTLE – Southwark Playhouse ★★★★★
Trestle centres around retirees Harry (Gary Lilburn) and Denise (Connie Walker) who are each navigating lonely lives through bereavement and emotional abandonment respectively.
TRESTLE – Southwark Playhouse
Small is beautiful. And that is because two-handers can sometimes reach parts that other, bigger, plays fail to touch. This is certainly the case with Stewart Pringle’s Trestle.
ASSATA TOUGHT ME – Gate Theatre
Off West End Awards winner Frankie Bradshaw (Best Set Design, Adding Machine at The Finborough) strikes again – the Gate Theatre is transformed into a ramshackle Havana apartment for Assata Taught Me.
CLICKBAIT – Theatre 503
New play about internet porn is both an entertaining fable and a disturbing vision of corruption.