While University Of Wonder And Imagination is fun it is also educational and provides a stimulating introduction to a number of topics which can be explored further.
‘Paul Kennedy gives a performance of note’: CONTINUITY – Finborough Theatre (Online review)
Continuity is just one of the online plays available from the Finborough Theatre’s repertoire. It is not an easy watch but has many important points to make about political and personal beliefs and is a worthy addition to the theatre’s growing roster of material which challenges and provokes.
‘Demonstrating the power of aural memories’: DIGITAL CARAVAN THEATRE – Series 2 (Online review)
The microplays in the Digital Caravan Theatre Series 2 are full of a richness born out of careful time management giving them a leanness which is sometimes lacking in longer works.
‘The play is stunningly realised’: APOLLO 13 – THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON – Original Theatre (Online review)
The whole creative and production team involved in Original Theatre Company’s Apollo 13: The Dark Side Of the Moon can be rightly proud of a superb job which really pushes at the frontiers of online drama.
‘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.
‘Piece after piece remains with you after the performance’: THE NEW TOMORROW – Young Vic (Online review)
Although a rather more muted celebration than originally planned, The New Tomorrow is a powerful acknowledgment of the theatre’s ongoing mission to be a real centre for the community.
‘A thoroughly sobering piece of work’: NO MASKS (Online review)
Back in April, part of Theatre Royal Stratford East’s response to the pandemic was to create a new type of project. They put out a call to key workers in the local community to share their stories via a video wall. Out of some of these writer Rebecca Lenkiewicz and director Nadia Fall have created a series of imagined monologues which have been filmed as No Masks.
‘There are some very funny moments’: DOING THE BOOK CLUB – Northern Comedy Theatre (Online review)
Northern Comedy Theatre has once again brightened up the online drama landscape with Doing The Book Club, the latest in David Spicer’s Doing… series.
‘He roams the stage like a cornered bear growling & spitting with fury’: DEATH OF A HUNTER – Finborough Theatre (Online review)
Edmund Dehn is great in Death of a Hunter as Ernest Hemingway, the role of a 20th century icon who lived and died explosively.
‘We had a great time getting to the solution’: SHERLOCK IN HOMES: MURDER AT THE CIRCUS – Sharp Teeth (Online review)
The pleasure of Sherlock In Homes: Murder at the Circus lies in watching half a dozen brains quickly scramble to come up with answers to what can be some pretty left field questions from the audience,
‘A family drama which transcends its genre’: BURIED CHILD (Online review)
Buried Child is a family drama which transcends its genre and this excellent production enhances its already considerable reputation.
‘Irresistibly charming & life affirming’: ROMANTICS ANONYMOUS – Bristol Old Vic (Online review)
Feelgood musical Romantics Anonymous at Bristol Old Vic certainly works on both the level of a light confection and something more robust for the committed chocolatophile/musicophile.
‘Full of wit, humour & reminiscence’: A MARVELLOUS PARTY (Online review)
A Marvellous Party, commissioned by the Noël Coward Foundation, ostensibly marks the centenary of Coward’s first appearance on stage and has been produced to raise funds for actors on both sides of the Atlantic who are struggling with the effects of the pandemic.
‘Online theatre preserves & does so beautifully’: Martin Sherman discusses the recent online production of his play Rose
John Chapman asks Martin Sherman, the author of online hit Rose, a number of impertinent questions.
‘Lively, timely & in places hilarious satire’: THE BOSS OF IT ALL – New Perspectives (Online review)
Writer/director Jack McNamara’s clever play The Boss Of It All remorselessly targets the ineptitude of the governing classes and, along the way, takes some delightful pot shots at the pretensions of a certain type of actor.
‘A haunting & spellbinding play’: FAITH HEALER – Old Vic (Online review)
The third of the Old Vic’s ‘In Camera’ live streamed performances is Brian Friel’s 1979 play Faith Healer, often described as his masterpiece.
‘There is no doubt that Branagh’s performance is a bravura one’: LOOK BACK IN ANGER (Online review)
This version of Look Back in Anger is from 30 odd years later and was mounted by Renaissance Theatre, then a relatively new company formed by a young Kenneth Branagh. The play was directed by Judi Dench, his is a made for television re-creation from 1989.
‘Maureen Lipman gives a magnificent performance’: ROSE – Hope Mill Theatre (Online review)
Magnificently played and realised by Maureen Lipman, Martin Sherman and Scott Le Crass, Rose is well worth viewing.
‘An effortless watch’: SHIELDERS / THREE KINGS (Online review)
John Chapman ties up a few loose ends by catching up with short play/film Shielders as part of the Traverse Theatre Festival and the live stream of Stephen Beresford’s play Three Kings, starring Andrew Scott and streamed from The Old Vic.
‘The real deal’: For Quality Purposes / The Ockenden Witch (Online review)
Two one act plays – For Quality Purposes and The Ockenden Witch – have a great deal to say about modern life – even if one is set in 1564!