What I like – as well as the daft jokes and a ridiculous sauna scene in sock-suspenders and full tweeds — is the disciplined slickness of it: that Reduced-Shakespeare or play-that-goes-wrong quality which lifts shows like this out of the tiresome arent-we-amusing college revue level and into proper theatre.
What were our Top 10 news stories in November 2017?
As it’s the first of the month, we’re taking a brief moment to remind ourselves of the biggest news stories from the month just closed. What were the headlines that got readers clicking most? Any surprises? Our Top 10 News stories from November 2017 are listed below with summaries and links to read more.
MISS JULIE – Jermyn Street Theatre ❤❤❤❤
Howard Brenton’s adaptation of Strindberg’s Miss Julie is sharp and observant in which the tension is carefully built up in Tom Littler’s production.
NEWS: Jermyn Street presents premieres of Woman Before a Glass & Network-inspired Mad as Hell
Jermyn Street Theatre’s dynamic 2018 spring season 2018 focuses on scandal and its impact with four plays: Woman Before a Glass, Mad as Hell, Hilda & Virginia and The Dog Beneath the Skin.
ANYTHING THAT FLIES – Jermyn Street Theatre ★★★★
When I read that Anything that Flies was her debut play by writer, Judith Burnley, I naturally assumed it was a young playwright being given a big chance by Jermyn Street’s new artistic director, Tom Littler.
ANYTHING THAT FLIES – Jermyn Street Theatre ❤❤❤
This surprisingly warm and heartbreaking story about grief and displacement feels slight in telling audiences anything new about the pain that World War II caused both Jewish and German people caught up in the atrocities.
THE BLINDING LIGHT – Jermyn Street Theatre ★★★★
Howard Brenton gives us a barn-storming role for the actor playing Strindberg – in this case, Jasper Britton – and the women who appear in his life.
THE BLINDING LIGHT – Jermyn Street Theatre
Howard Brenton’s latest takes a scalpel to the collapsing mind of playwright August Strindberg.
THE BLINDING LIGHT – Jermyn Street Theatre
Howard Brenton’s latest takes a scalpel to the collapsing mind of playwright August Strindberg.
THE BLINDING LIGHT – Jermyn Street Theatre ★★★★★
This is a terrific coup for director Tom Littler’s debut as artistic director of the little Jermyn Theatre, now becoming a full producing-house. He commissioned this extraordinary 90-minuter from no less a writer than Howard Brenton.
Terri on why she’s supporting Sari + play shout-outs for 80 Days, The Wasp, Flood
My thoughts, live-tweets and ticket links from recent plays I’ve seen: Around the World in 80 Days, The Wasp, Flood (now closed) and Sari: The Whole Five Yards.
THE WASP – Jermyn Street Theatre
The Wasp is a play better plotted than it is written. The storyline kept me gripped and the acting was impressive, but the characterisation was far too broad and likely to fall into lazy stereotypes.
THE WASP – Jermyn Street Theatre
The Wasp in its relatively short lifespan has already become known as a compelling piece of writing. This production, directed by Anna Simpson, highlights the brilliant writing once again.
I Loved Lucy Q&A podcast: What do Lucille Ball & Sandra Dickinson have in common?
Why did Lee call his American producers in alarm when he first met Sandra Dickinson? What do Sandra and Lucille Ball have in common? Are Lee and Matthew Scott related? What would Lucy herself tell Lee if she were in the audience?
INSTRUCTIONS FOR AMERICAN SERVICEMEN IN BRITAIN – Jermyn Street Theatre
Taking the form of a series of briefings to the US troops – that’s us, the audience – and including cross dressing, slapstick and audience interaction, Instructions for American Servicemen in Britain is less a conventional play, more a pantomime for adults.
PHOTOS & VIDEOS: Sneak-peek into The Wasp rehearsals, plus meet the company
Have you booked your tickets yet for Anna Simpson’s new production of Morgan Lloyd Malcolm’s The Wasp? Check out these rehearsal room pics and video interviews with director and cast, then get booking!
PHOTOS & VIDEO: In the rehearsal room with I Loved Lucy + rare footage of Lucille Ball
Have you got your tickets yet for the return of Lee Tannen’s Mates-acclaimed play I LOVED LUCY? Sneak a peek at our rehearsal shots of Sandra Dickinson (reprising her role as Lucille Ball) and Broadway’s Matthew Scott – plus rarely seen colour footage of the real Lucille Ball in action – and then get booking!
New post-show Q&A: Join Terri to talk to I Loved Lucy’s author & stars
Mates co-founder Terri Paddock will talk to the author, director and stars of Lee Tannen’s hit bio-play I LOVED LUCY, returning for a third London season by popular demand, after the performance at the Arts Theatre Wednesday 26 July 2017. Got any questions?
INSTRUCTIONS FOR AMERICAN SERVICE MEN IN BRITAIN – Jermyn Street Theatre
We’re familiar, perhaps too familiar, with the image of Dad’s Army, gamely tramping down the country lanes and across the verdant fields of southern England during the second world war. But, at the time, there was also another army stationed in this green and pleasant land: the US Army.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR AMERICAN SERVICE MEN IN BRITAIN – Jermyn Street Theatre
We’re familiar, perhaps too familiar, with the image of Dad’s Army, gamely tramping down the country lanes and across the verdant fields of southern England during the second world war. But, at the time, there was also another army stationed in this green and pleasant land: the US Army.