Lullabies For the Lost is one of two plays by Rosalind Blessed about mental health that are being performed in rep at the Old Red Lion.
‘The atmosphere was one of unalloyed fun’: LEXICON – Roundhouse ★★★★
While I’ve seen circus shows with more thrilling moments, the air of carefree fun and mischief in Lexicon made me laugh out loud and put a smile on my face.
‘Enjoyable & gripping production’: THE DUCHESS OF MALFI – Almeida Theatre ★★★★
A magnetic stage presence, Lydia Wilson is a strong woman in The Duchess Of Malfi, clever, kind, stoic and justifiably angry. It makes her an all the more tragic figure.
10 plays from the past 10 years that stand out
Here is a snapshot of my favourite theatre from the past 10 years, the plays that stand out most in my memory, the ones I talk about if people ask.
‘Thought-provoking, challenging, gripping & entertaining’: A KIND OF PEOPLE – Royal Court Theatre ★★★★★
While A Kind of People generates a lot of laughter it is nonetheless an uncompromising reflection of modern British society that sometimes makes for uncomfortable viewing.
‘Fun & clever dark comedy’: TEENAGE DICK – Donmar Warehouse ★★★★★
Teenage Dick is one of those play titles you have to be careful mentioning or googling, a bit like Cock at the Royal Court – but it is wholly appropriate for Mike Lew’s play.
‘The beauty and rawness of it pull you in’: CYRANO DE BERGERAC – West End ★★★★★
The beauty and rawness of Cyrano de Bergerac pull you in and envelopes you and the performances combined with the tragedy of the story haunted me for days.
‘I loved the cheekiness of its approach’: LAND WITHOUT DREAMS – Gate Theatre ★★★
Land Without Dreams at the Gate Theatre is a surreal, existential meta ‘drama’ created by Danish company Fix & Foxy.
‘It is theatre that sends a powerful message’: QUEENS OF SHEBA – Touring ★★★★★
Queens of Sheba is a play of contrasts it is angry and joyous, fun and sad, quietly contemplative and in your face loud.
‘Great, grown-up entertainment’: LA CLIQUE – Leicester Square Spiegeltent ★★★★
There is a festive start to the La Clique cabaret of song and acrobatic show but naturally, it is ironic. This is the church of misfits and weirdos where difference is celebrated in a decadent, saucy and sometimes humorous way.
‘Tense, laugh out loud funny & heart-wrenchingly sad’: ON BEAR RIDGE – Royal Court Theatre ★★★★
A surreal, existential tragi-comedy, On Bear Ridge is at times tense, laugh out loud funny and heart-wrenchingly sad.
‘So pitch black that you struggle to see where the laughs are’: VASSA – Almeida Theatre ★★★
Vassa, adapted from Maxim Gorky’s original by Mike Bartlett, is a pitch-black comedy rather than a farce, so pitch black that you struggle to see where the laughs are.
‘Comedy doesn’t always stick’: THE MAN IN THE WHITE SUIT – West End ★★★
Sean Foley’s adaptation of the 1950s Ealing comedy The Man In The White Suit stars Stephen Mangan as clever but hapless scientist Sidney and Kara Tointon as Daphne, a posh, mill owner’s daughter.
‘It swells your heart & breaks it’: A DAY IN THE DEATH OF JOE EGG – Trafalgar Studios ★★★★
Peter Nichols’ 1967 comedy A Day In The Death of Joe Egg demonstrates both how far we’ve come in our treatment of and attitudes towards disability but equally how the moral dilemmas and struggles remain.
‘A slow build to an explosive picture’: MASTER HAROLD & THE BOYS – National Theatre ★★★★
Master Harold & The Boys is a play about lessons and devastating loss, about how you can’t dance around injustice and its impact.
‘Cruttenden’s performance is one of subtle conflict’: BLACK CHIFFON – Park Theatre ★★★★
Black Chiffon is an interesting play, slowly building enough psychological intrigue and drama to keep you hooked.
‘Heart-wrenching performances’: APPROPRIATE – Donmar Warehouse ★★★★
Appropriate isn’t my favourite Branden Jacobs-Jenkins play but it has enough in it of what I love about his writing to enjoy.
‘Delving beneath the surface of labels & stereotypes’: THE DOCTOR – Almeida Theatre
The performances are superb in The Doctor at the Almeida Theatre, Juliet Stevenson is as formidable as her character and Ria Zmitrowicz’s dry one-liners are a refreshing light relief particularly as the persistent tension can become a bit numbing.
‘Tense & gripping’: ACTUALLY – West End ★★★★
Actually is a complex play that explores more than consent, it raises questions about attitudes towards sex and relationships, race, religion, upbringing and family.
‘A lesson in embracing the simple pleasures’: THE COLOURS – Soho Theatre ★★★★
Harriet Madeley’s The Colours is a verbatim play based on interviews with people with life-limiting illnesses and those working in palliative care.