Written by Gail Louw, the good dad (a love story) is a compelling piece about the devastating impact sexual abuse and incest has on 3 different women. It is a masterclass in shifting perspectives that add new nuance and intrigue to what would otherwise be a horribly bleak story. Donna was sexually abused and raped from childhood by her Dad. Her twin sister Carol surely must have suspected something, why didn’t she say anything? Or did she? And her mother, well lets just say she sees Donna as the other woman. As time goes by, and Donna can see her Dad falling back into recognisable patterns, it is up to her to do something about it. Except that isn’t where we start, we start at the end and look back, with the story told from the rubble of these 3 women’s lives.
‘Taking stock of human connection’: LOVE SCREENS – Open Ealing (Online review)
In OPEN Ealing’s Love Screens – three short plays that are written by Nicolas Ridley and directed by Anthony Shrubsall – relationships are placed under the microscope: those that have run their course, those that have remained in a state of inertia and those that may blossom, given the right circumstances.
‘A complex & fascinating character from the Stuart era’: THE MASKS OF APHRA BEHN / ORANGES & INK (Online review)
Claire Louise Amias’ pair of plays, The Masks of Aphra Behn and Oranges & Ink, resurrect Aphra Behn from a place of relative obscurity into sharp relief as a chatty, warm, and witty raconteur.
‘Hitherto unknown stories are unearthed’: GLASS SPLINTERS – Pleasance Theatre
One of the things I love about the Glass Splinters evenings is the variety of hitherto ‘unknown’ stories that are unearthed. Far from being recent participants in world events, Glass Splinters shows women have always been at the forefront of scientific discoveries, cultural revolutions and literary milestones.
BOEING BOEING – Oldham Coliseum
We’re in Paris and it’s the swinging sixties and Bernard, a bachelor and highly successful Parisian architect, is flying by the tail wind of the Jet Age. With three fiancées, who are all air hostesses for different airlines and flying on different routes, he has managed to ensure that only one of the women is ‘at home’ in Paris at any one time. However, with the dawn of newer planes and faster aircraft, Bernard’s carefully timetabled system is put under severe pressure.