If you could meet your 15-year-old-self, what would you say? Would your point of view be any different from theirs? Or perhaps the only deviation would be time has honed your views with greater clarity and nuance? Written by Elin Doyle and directed by Laura Kirman, Guinea Pigs is about a teenager whose father is connected to the British nuclear testing programme – its aftermath having major physical and emotional repercussions.
‘Has the makings of a very important piece of theatre’: GUINEA PIGS – The Space
There’s a lot to appreciate in Guinea Pigs at The Space. The central inspiration is a topic that’s been deliberately covered up and will therefore be news to many audience members, and Elin Doyle’s script both asks challenging questions about the rights and wrongs of nuclear armament, and draws neat parallels between the UK’s political situation in the 1980s and in 2022 (in summary, not much has changed).
‘The cast constantly succeeds in keeping the momentum going’: CLUEDO – Touring ★★★
The touring Cluedo at the King’s is billed as a ‘brand new play’ and ‘an exciting comedy thriller’. It is certainly possible to quibble with those descriptions as there is little excitement, few thrills and nothing new. However, it does have considerable comic value.
‘Rather rowdily, raucous bit of good fun’: The Frida Kahlo of Penge West – Golden Goose Theatre
The Frida Kahlo of Penge West proves a comic surprise at the Golden Goose Theatre. The level of theatrical in-jokes might deter the casual viewer but there’s such vibrancy in the performances.
NEWS: Magic Goes Wrong has new cast at the Vaudeville Theatre from March 2020
From March 2020 a new cast will star in the West End production of Magic Goes Wrong, the box office hit created by Mischief Theatre with Penn & Teller, currently running at the Vaudeville Theatre.
Podcast: Talking understudies, acting classes & comedy with Waiting… company
Dave Hanson’s hit New York comedy Waiting for Waiting for Godot receives its European premiere at London’s St James Theatre and, just before he flew back to New York, I got to quiz Dave about his inspiration for this debut play (bitter personal experience on a Los Angeles production of the Beckett classic: “Terrible. Boring. Underpaid.”).
Waiting for Waiting for Godot: My own experience understudying Beckett
Being cast as an understudy in a production of Waiting For Godot, around 2004, in North Hollywood, California, had to be one of the worst experiences of my acting life. I had just started a career in Los Angeles as an actor and stand up comedian. I was willing to act in almost anything that came my way.
NEWS: Fast Show star Simon Day joins Mischief alumni in Waiting for Waiting for Godot
The Fast Show’s Simon Day will star alongside The Play That Goes Wrong alumni Laura Kirman and James Marlowe in the European premiere of Dave Hanson’s hit Off-Broadway comedy Waiting for Waiting for Godot, running at London’s St James Theatre Studio from 30 August to 24 September 2016. My Theatre Mates co-founder Terri Paddock hosts a post-show Q&A with the cast on Monday 5 September 2016.
THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG – West End
The original production from the Mischief Theatre company has certainly come along way from its first performance at the Old Red Lion Theatre. Who knew a murder mystery could provide so many laughs? Well thank goodness for Mischief Theatre and Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society, audiences can take real pleasure in seeing everything go wrong at […]