This is far from the only option for anyone wanting to see A Christmas Carol in London this year – but if you’re looking for a performance that’s intimate, funny, inventive and a little bit different, this year’s festive offering from the Jack surely has to be a tough one to beat.
‘As clever, funny & heartbreaking as ever’: PERSEPHONE – Brockley Jack Studio Theatre ★★★★★
Arrows & Traps’ outstanding online films of reimagined Greek myths were a joy during the pandemic, and you should not miss the chance to see Persephone live on stage at the Brockley Jack Studio Theatre.
At Brockley Jack, Arrows & Traps ‘bring to the stage not one but two inspiring real-life stories’
Returning to live performance for the first time in two years, Arrows & Traps prove they’ve lost none of their ambition as they bring to the stage not one but two inspiring real-life stories.
‘A striking play about a most striking woman’: PAYNE – The Stars Are Fire – Jack Studio Theatre
I may still not know what a variable star is but Cecilia Payne did and that’s what matters.
‘Illuminates the struggle to pursue an almighty artistic vision’: HOLST – The Music in the Spheres – Jack Studio Theatre
Arrows & Traps return to live performance in customary ambitious style with Holst – The Music In The Spheres at the Brockley Jack Theatre.
‘Powerful, personal & poignant’: TALKING GODS – Arrows & Traps (Online review)
You wait all year for an Arrows & Traps production… and then five come along at once. Unable to return to the stage just yet, Arrows have instead taken to the screen – and given the often cinematic style of writer and director Ross McGregor’s work, it should come as no particular surprise that the transition works pretty seamlessly.
‘Investigating the world of theatre & film creatively & inventively’: TALKING GODS FESTIVAL – Arrows & Traps (Online review)
Talking Gods sees Arrows & Traps move online with a creative hybrid of theatre and film hoiking Ancient Greek mythology into the modern age.
‘An enjoyable reimagining of this story’: PYGMALION – Talking Gods Festival (Online review)
All this week, you can find a free premiere each night from Ross McGregor’s Talking Gods series of new plays on the website of theatre company Arrows & Traps, who specialise in classic adaptations and historical new writing.
‘Makes you want to explore these myths with new insight’: PERSEPHONE – Talking Gods Festival (Online review) ★★★★
This powerful retelling of how Persephone ended up in the Underworld is given a modern twist that makes for compelling viewing.
‘Moving & sympathetic portrayal of a complex man’: CHAPLIN: BIRTH OF A TRAMP – Brockley Jack Studio Theatre
Chaplin: Birth of a Tramp is a sensitive and interesting take on Chaplin, looking at the artist behind the art and continues to showcase Arrows and Traps as a innovative company.
WATCH Chaplin’s post-show Q&A: Why is being funny such a sad business?
Have you ever seen Charlie Chaplin’s classic film The Great Dictator? Eighty years after it was released, it feels terrifyingly current. We get a glimpse of why with the inclusion of its final speech in Arrows & Traps’ latest offering.
‘Incredible sensitivity & intelligence’: CHAPLIN: BIRTH OF A TRAMP – Brockley Jack Studio Theatre ★★★★★
Chaplin: Birth of a Tramp is an enthralling and emotive production with an unforgettable central performance – another unmissable show from Arrows & Traps.
‘Fascinating, entertaining & surprisingly poignant’: CHAPLIN: BIRTH OF A TRAMP – Brockley Jack Studio Theatre
If you’ve ever wondered how this particular legend was born, the play Chaplin: Birth of a Tramp offers a fascinating, entertaining and surprisingly poignant way to find out.
Ought To Be Clowns’ 10 favourite shows of 2019
Ought To Be Clowns barely saw 250 shows this year, quiet by his standards. And as is the way of these things, here’s a rundown of some of the productions that moved me most…
20 shows to look forward to in 2020
Looking ahead to some of 2020’s exciting shows, most with an emphasis away from the West End and instead focusing at the London Fringe and across the UK.
New post-show Q&A: Join Terri for Arrows & Traps’ premiere of Chaplin in February
As part of her ongoing post-show talk series, Mates co-founder Terri Paddock catches the premiere of a brand-new play about legend of the silver screen, the Little Tramp, Charlie Chaplin. Got any questions?
‘Well-plotted & tense political noir’: THE STRANGE CASE OF JEKYLL & HYDE – Brockley Jack Studio Theatre & Touring ★★★★★
Ross McGregor, artistic director and powerhouse behind Arrows & Traps Theatre Company, has captured the zeitgeist with his modern, political adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Jekyll & Hyde.
‘Performances hit the mark from top to bottom’: THE STRANGE CASE OF JEKYLL & HYDE – Brockley Jack Studio Theatre & Touring
Arrows & Traps’ queer noir take on The Strange Case of Jekyll & Hyde is a contemporary adaptation that speaks to the ages at the Brockley Jack Theatre.
‘A guarantee of quality’: THE STRANGE CASE OF JEKYLL & HYDE – Brockley Jack Studio Theatre & Touring
Arrows and Traps’ residency at the Brockley Jack is a guarantee of quality. This new adaptation, from director and writer Ross McGregor, of the classic novel sets the scene in 21st century America; amongst school shootings, right wing rhetoric, sexuality and the science that makes Jekyll & Hyde seem a possibility rather than a fantasy.
Q&A video: Why did Arrows & Traps reset Jekyll & Hyde during the US presidential race?
Arrows & Traps’ 18th production in its five-year history is also its tenth at London’s Brockley Jack Theatre, where it is now an associate company, and its third in a Gothic trilogy. And it’s a corker.