Anna Coombs’ adaptation of Shakespeare’s Richard II sees the story slimmed down for five actors, with three of the cast playing more than one character. It focuses the attention on King Richard (Daniel Rock) and his cousins, the loyal Aumerle (Lebogang Fisher) and Henry Bollingbroke (Raheim Menzies), and the power tussle between them for the crown
‘A fascinating story at its heart’: DMITRY – Marylebone Theatre ★★★
Written by Peter Oswald and Alexander J Gifford ‘after’ an unfinished play by Friedrich Schiller, Dmitry is the story of the much loved, youngest son of the Tzar of Russia who was murdered – or was he?
‘Brilliantly written & performed’: MONSTER – Park Theatre ★★★★★
There was a point while watching Monster at the Park Theatre when I realised I had my hand over my mouth. What was unfolding on stage was shocking, and I haven’t had a reaction like that to a play for quite a while.
‘A compelling watch’: FREUD’S LAST SESSION – King’s Head Theatre ★★★★★
Mark St Germain’s play Freud’s Last Session at the King’s Head Theatre in Islington is a compact yet powerful play which imagines a clash of intellect and reasoning between two famous minds.
‘Has some interesting things to say about some of life’s struggles in an unfair society’: SAD – Omnibus Theatre ★★★
Gloria has taken refuge in her attic, distracting herself from the dark winter months and grief by playing punk and dictating entries for her memoir into her laptop.
‘Is it a dark comedy, a thriller or a horror?’: UNDER THE RADAR – Old Red Lion Theatre
In Jonathan Crewe’s play Under the Radar, female journalist Lee Stilling (Eleanor Hill) is profiling male inventor Martin Christensen, who has built his own submarine.
Rev Stan’s Lockdown London walks lead to the Old Red Lion Theatre
London has an abundance of pub theatres, and the Old Red Lion in Islington is one of my favourites. The space is tiny with pew-like seating on two sides of the tea-tray sized stage.
‘What happens when the camera stops rolling & there is no self-editing?’: ALL BY MYSELF – Part of the Main Theatre Company (Online review)
All By Myself is a production by Part of the Main theatre company for Applecart Arts and it explores identity during the Covid crisis when your only connection to the outside world is via the internet.
10 plays that, in hindsight, feel strangely appropriate for lockdown during a pandemic
The coronavirus pandemic and lockdown has thrown a whole new light on certain plays, the ones about isolation, loneliness and surreal landscapes.
The best play I’ve seen for each of the past 10 years (aka the agony-to-choose list)
Not to let a decade of theatre bloggery go by without marking the occasion, to kick things off, I’ve compiled a list of my favourite play for each year I’ve been blogging. It has been fun revisiting my best-of lists but absolute agony narrowing each list down to just one.
‘Proper stagecraft can be achieved even within the confines of a small screen’: Interview with Creation Theatre’s Lucy Askew
Creation Theatre this month invited audiences to watch an interactive, virtual version of Shakespeare’s The Tempest – from the safety of their sofa.
‘Funny, haunting, moving & strangely uplifting’: YOU STUPID DARKNESS! – Southwark Playhouse ★★★★
Given everything that is going on in the world politically and environmentally You Stupid Darkness! feels like it has captured the mood, the battle to stay cheerful and hopeful when everything feels like it is falling apart.
Andrew Finnigan, Lydia Larson, Andy Rush and Jenni Maitland in You Stupid Darkne…
‘Emotionally vivid’: Lullabies for the Lost – Old Red Lion Theatre
Lullabies For the Lost is one of two plays by Rosalind Blessed about mental health that are being performed in rep at the Old Red Lion.
‘I loved the cheekiness of its approach’: LAND WITHOUT DREAMS – Gate Theatre ★★★
Land Without Dreams at the Gate Theatre is a surreal, existential meta ‘drama’ created by Danish company Fix & Foxy.
‘It is theatre that sends a powerful message’: QUEENS OF SHEBA – Touring ★★★★★
Queens of Sheba is a play of contrasts it is angry and joyous, fun and sad, quietly contemplative and in your face loud.
‘Cruttenden’s performance is one of subtle conflict’: BLACK CHIFFON – Park Theatre ★★★★
Black Chiffon is an interesting play, slowly building enough psychological intrigue and drama to keep you hooked.
‘A lesson in embracing the simple pleasures’: THE COLOURS – Soho Theatre ★★★★
Harriet Madeley’s The Colours is a verbatim play based on interviews with people with life-limiting illnesses and those working in palliative care.
‘More satire, please’: THE ACTOR’S NIGHTMARE – Park Theatre
The Actor’s Nightmare is six short plays, linked by themes of acting, theatre and performance and brought together for the first time at the Park Theatre.
‘Fiercely intelligent & keenly observed’: Seven Methods of Killing Kylie Jenner – Royal Court Theatre ★★★★★
London’s theatre scene is awash with productions which offer a ‘fresh’ take on classics but Jasmine Lee-Jones’ play Seven Methods of Killing Kylie Jenner demonstrates exactly what really ‘fresh’ theatre is – and should be.
‘Gets off to a punchy start’: DARK SUBLIME – Trafalgar Studios ★★★
Dark Sublime is a long play and while it contains some really good material it would benefit from being trimmed back to make it slicker and more focused.
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