The National Theatre has announces 15 productions of new plays and fresh adaptations by leading writers. Olivier Theatre My Brilliant Friend 12 November 2019 to 18 January 2020 (Press day is 26 November). Plays in rep, with further performances to be announced Following a sell-out run at Rose Theatre Kingston, the two-part adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend by April De Angelis is reworked …
‘The kind of work that should open some doors’: BARBER SHOP CHRONICLES – Touring ★★★★
Theatre is tackling a constant diversity issue, a key component being how to attract an audience that rarely feels the theatre is open to them. Barber Shop Chronicles is the kind of work that should open some doors.
Text of the Day: The Half God of Rainfall
Random and topical thoughts and quotes gathered by My Theatre Mates contributor Aleks Sierz, first published on www.sierz.co.uk.
‘Geographical & emotional odyssey’: BARBER SHOP CHRONICLES – Touring
Barber Shop Chronicles is a bold and inexorable march towards changing the way we share stories, shifting the mainstream narrative and dealing with both joy and pain in equal measure.
‘Flies because of the vigour of the text & the electricity of the staging’: THE HALF GOD OF RAINFALL – Kiln Theatre
Poetic two-hander The Half God of Rainfall combines epic myth, family relationships and gender politics in an exciting evening.
‘Epic battle of gods anchored in contemporary culture’: THE HALF GOD OF RAINFALL – Kiln Theatre ★★★★
In the same way that the Marvel Universe mixes superpowers with mortal flaws, the scope of The Half God of Rainfall stretches to another galaxy but all the time remains profoundly human.
‘I was struck by the scope of Inua’s epic poem’: Rakie Ayola appears in The Half God of Rainfall at the Kiln Theatre
Actress Rakie Ayola chatted to us about her current role in The Half God of Rainfall at the Kiln Theatre.
‘A celebration of friendship, tradition & heritage’: BARBER SHOP CHRONICLES – Touring
Barber Shop Chronicles is a celebration of friendship, tradition and heritage. Ellams skilfully toes the line between sentiment, gaucheness, sincerity and wit while exploring issues of racial, social and gender identity with a keen eye for human foibles.
‘Life-affirming & vivid’: BARBER SHOP CHRONICLES – Touring ★★★★★
Barber Shop Chronicles is a hugely impressive production. Life-affirming and vivid. Putting lives on stage which have not been seen there before.
NEWS: National Theatre announces new season including cast of 40 for stage adaptation of Andrea Levy’s Small Island
Gershwyn Eustache Jnr, Leah Harvey and Aisling Loftus lead the cast of Small Island, adapted by Helen Edmundson from Andrea Levy’s prize-winning novel, directed by Rufus Norris in the Olivier Theatre, as part of the National Theatre’s new season.
NEWS: National Theatre’s new season features Andrea Levy’s Small Island, Caryl Churchill’s Top Girls & Lenny Henry as Richard Pryor
Rufus Norris has unveiled the National Theatre’s plans for 2019 and beyond. Highlights include the world premiere of Small Island adapted by Helen Edmundson from Andrea Levy’s novel, directed by Rufus Norris.
NEWS: Inua Ellams’ The Half God of Rainfall is a new addition to the Kiln Theatre’s inaugural season
Kiln Theatre’s artistic director Indhu Rubasingham has today announced that Inua Ellams’ The Half God of Rainfall joins the line-up for the opening season.
‘As theatre there are several memorable moments’: MISTY – Bush Theatre
At the centre of the show is Arinzé Kene himself. Having just finished his part in Conor McPherson’s Girl from the North Country in the West End, he devotes all of his considerable charisma to this meditation on the race politics of storytelling.
BARBER SHOP CHRONICLES – National Theatre
That it is sold out shouldn’t stop you from trying to get tickets – there’s Friday Rush and there’s refreshing this page in case of returns, and boy is it worth it.
Text of the Day: Barber Shop Chronicles
Random and topical thoughts and quotes gathered by My Theatre Mates contributor Aleks Sierz, first published on www.sierz.co.uk.
BARBER SHOP CHRONICLES – National Theatre
Black theatre used to be one of most creative aspects of contemporary British drama. But recently a lot of the impetus behind plays by black playwrights seems to have dried up. The great names of the past couple of decades are either silent, or, which is worse, merely repeating themselves.
BARBER SHOP CHRONICLES – National Theatre
The hugely convivial pre-show entertainment for Barber Shop Chronicles is such good fun that I thought to myself I could easily just watch this for an hour. As it turned out, press night delays meant that it was extended by about thirty minutes, during which you really got to appreciate how quietly radical it is.
AN EVENING WITH AN IMMIGRANT – Tara Arts
A quote by Naguib Mahfouz resonates with Ellams’ story, “Home is not where you are born; home is where all your attempts to escape cease”. Ellams and his tightknit family are constantly attempting to escape, to belong.
VAULT Festival: Astronauts of Hartlepool & Borderland/Calais
Keeping on top of reviews is a challenge at the best of times, so throwing in a whole bunch of festival shows from the Vaults makes time management even more challenging. So I’m opting to round up shorter reviews of what I’ve seen in the week into a single post.
NEWS: Rufus Norris announces 2017 National Theatre season
artistic director Rufus Norris announced the flagship institution’s 2017 season which will include four world premieres – including a current work-in-progress on the state of Brexit Britain – two European premieres and new work by Inua Ellams, Yaёl Farber, DC Moore, Lindsey Ferrentino and Nina Raine.