There is a stillness that descends over a theatre audience when they are gripped and fidgeting when they aren’t. In the first half of The Breach at Hampstead Theatre, the audience was fidgeting.
‘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.
‘Modern families, money & the morals of genetics’: THE FEVER SYNDROME – Hampstead Theatre ★★★
The family at the centre of the story is that of Richard Myers (Robert Lindsay), an eminent geneticist who now has Parkinson’s Disease.
‘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.
‘I was gripped in the presence of two great artists & gripped by their stories’: THE COLLABORATION – Young Vic Theatre ★★★★★
Anthony McCarten’s new play The Collaboration at the Young Vic kicks off as you arrive in the auditorium with an 80s DJ set. It’s toe-tapping, hip and creates a party, edgy, youthful yet nostalgic atmosphere.
‘Kit Harington is nuanced, often quiet & considered’: HENRY V – Donmar Warehouse ★★★★★
Henry V opens with a burst of energy at a club with a worse for wear party prince. It’s lifted from Henry IV part 2 and is an important reminder of Henry V’s past and subsequent transformation into a serious king.
‘Like looking at broken mirror pieces’: THE FOREST – Hampstead Theatre ★★★★
The play follows Pierre, a successful surgeon who’s married and the father of a grown-up daughter, as he juggles his professional and family life with having a mistress.
‘Surreal & almost cosmic’: THE GLOW – Royal Court Theatre
Alistair McDowall’s The Glow at the Royal Court is a play I’ve had to ponder – a lot – and I still don’t have any firm conclusions.
‘Shades of Scandi humour on the slopes’: FORCE MAJEURE – Donmar Warehouse
The Donmar Warehouse’s stage has been converted into a French ski resort for Force Majeure.
Force Majeur…
‘Laugh-out-loud funny & highly entertaining’: PEGGY FOR YOU – Hampstead Theatre ★★★★
Peggy Ramsay is a play agent, but she is more famous than the playwrights and the work that she represents.
‘It envelops you into the landscape of serious athletics’: FAIR PLAY – Bush Theatre ★★★★
Fair Play is set in the world of female athletics. Ann joins a running club, meets Sophie, and the two bond over their love of running.
‘One of the stars is for the staircase, which was great’: MANOR – National Theatre ★★
As the stage was plunged into darkness at the end of Manor on the National Theatre’s Lyttelton stage, I was thinking: What was the point?
‘Arthur Darvill is stand-out as a filthy rich businessman’: RARE EARTH METTLE – Royal Court Theatre ★★★★
Al Smith’s new play Rare Earth Mettle at the Royal Court is a meaty piece that covers a lot of ground.
‘Emotions are kept dialled to practical’: ‘NIGHT, MOTHER – Hampstead Theatre ★★★
The play is set in rural America, where a mother (Stockard Channing) and daughter Jessie (Rebecca Night), who has epilepsy, live together.
‘A fun, frothy play in part carried by its status as a West End institution’: THE MOUSETRAP – West End
Are you allowed to call yourself a theatre fan if you haven’t seen The Mousetrap, the West End’s longest-running play? Possibly. But I’ve ticked that box now.
‘A gripping & affecting piece’: THE NORMAL HEART – National Theatre ★★★★★
The Normal Heart is a play of fights. Set in the early 1980s in New York, gay men are dying, but gay activist Ned Weeks is struggling to get anyone to do anything.
‘It carries with it a powerful message’: IS GOD IS – Royal Court Theatre ★★★★★
Two actors on stage describe their characters as if the direction in the playtext is part of the script. It is the first of many quirks in Aleshea Harris’ dark revenge comedy Is God Is.
‘Digital gives huge opportunities to change the industry in a positive way’: RevStan interviews PR guru Chloe Nelkin on theatre creativity during lockdown and its legacy
Chloe Nelkin has run theatre, arts and opera PR company, Chloe Nelkin Consulting, for 10 years, and we sat down to talk about how theatres responded during lockdown and what the legacy will be. I also asked her what we should look out for and what she’s most looking forward to seeing.
‘The superb script is compellingly brought to life’: THE MEMORY OF WATER – Hampstead Theatre ★★★★
The three sisters in Shelagh Stephenson’s play The Memory of Water – Teresa (Lucy Black), Mary (Laura Rogers) and Catherine (Carolina Main) – have gathered at their mother’s home ahead of her funeral.
‘Like watching a cross between Waiting For Godot and Noises Off’: THE TWO CHARACTER PLAY – Hampstead Theatre
The Two Character Play at London’s Hampstead Theatre was at times interesting and enjoyable and at others frustrating and perplexing.