“A play I won’t forget.” Can you ask for more as an audience member than a play that has such an impact that the memory sticks with you. This is the effect The Project is having on reviewers. We’ve collected some of the best together – see what they say, then book your tickets!
GALLERY: Discover more about WW2 drama The Project as we go inside rehearsals
New drama The Project takes audiences inside World War II transit camp Westerbork, which held many of Europe’s most lauded cabaret artists of the time… and encouraged them to perform on a weekly basis. As it takes to the London stage , we take you inside rehearsals to see what the cast have been up to.
‘What sort of cruel political philosophy would weaponise art’: Ian Buckley tells us the extraordinary story of Westerbork transit camp that inspired The Project
During World War II, the inmates of Westerbork transit camp were permitted to stage a weekly cabaret performance… just hours after 1,000 of their friends and neighbours had left on a train destined for Auschwitz. Playwright Ian Buckley tells us about the camp that housed many of Europe’s finest performers of the time and how it inspired his latest play, The Project.
NEWS: New WW2 drama The Project premieres at the White Bear Theatre
Inspired by true events, Ian Buckley’s latest play, The Project, tells the story of an unusual World War Two transit camp where tragedy and cutting-edge entertainment meet. It receives its world premiere at the White Bear Theatre later this spring, running from 5 to 23 March 2019.
‘Women paid the highest price’: Christina Tranholm on the true wartime events that inspired The German Girls
As rehearsals continue for The German Girls in preparation for its Camden Fringe debut, we spoke to London-based Danish writer and actress Christina Tranholm about sharing the hidden stories of Danish women who fell in love with German soldiers during the Second World War – and how relevant it still is today.
PHOTOS: Sneak a peek behind Nazi enemy lines in The German Girls rehearsals
As part of our Camden Fringe Featured Show series, we’re counting down to the premiere of Christina Tranholm’s The German Girls, set in Nazi-occupied Denmark during the Second World War. Sneak a peek at the company in rehearsal action ahead of the play’s run at the Lion & Unicorn Theatre from 15 to 18 August 2018 – and then get booking!
NEWS: The German Girls reveals Denmark’s untold WWII story at Camden Fringe
Next up in our Camden Fringe Featured Show series, the untold story of Denmark during the Second World War – and, specifically, the double standards held against their own women is the subject of Christina Tranholm’s new play The German Girls. It premieres at the Lion & Unicorn Theatre from 15 to 18 August 2018.
FEATURED SHOW: Happy Warriors at Upstairs at the Gatehouse, ★★★★ reviews are in
This late bloomer definitely has legs. The debut play by 91-year-old James Hugh Macdonald’s Happy Warriors has got both audiences and reviewers raving. The three-hander, centring on a wartime encounter between Randolph (son of Winston) Churchill and Brideshead Revisited novelist Evelyn Waugh, only has one week left in its premiere season. We’ve rounded up some of our favourite press quotes below. Now get booking!
WATCH: 91-year-old Happy Warriors debut playwright has three more plays ready to go
When you make your playwriting debut at 91, there’s no time to hang about. Watch this fantastic interview with 91-year-old James Hugh Macdonald, whose first play Happy Warriors is currently premiering Upstairs at the Gatehouse: he’s got three more completed plays ready to go! (Don’t miss our special offer for £10 tickets to be in the audience for the filming of this acclaimed first one this Friday.)
PHOTOS: Onstage with Randolph Churchill & Evelyn Waugh in Happy Warriors
Got your tickets yet for the world premiere of James Hugh Macdonald’s Happy Warriors? The new three-hander centres on a wartime encounter between Randolph (son of Winston) Churchill and Brideshead Revisited novelist Evelyn Waugh. Check out our production shots gallery – and then get booking!
NEWS: 91-year-old makes playwriting debut with Happy Warriors at Gatehouse
Why is so much of the focus on young, up-and-coming writers? Happy Warriors is a brand-new play by 91-year-old, journalist-turned-debut playwright JamesHugh Macdonald, based on a real, wartime events involving novelist Evelyn Waugh and Randolph Churchill. The play receives its world premiere at Upstairs at the Gatehouse, where it’s being recorded this Friday for future broadcast. Learn more – and nab £10 tickets to be in the audience for filming!
THE SLAVES OF SOLITUDE – Hampstead Theatre
The Slaves of Solitude is set in the winter of 1943. We are in the Rosamund Tea Rooms boarding house, in Henley-on-Thames.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR AMERICAN SERVICE MEN IN BRITAIN – Jermyn Street Theatre
We’re familiar, perhaps too familiar, with the image of Dad’s Army, gamely tramping down the country lanes and across the verdant fields of southern England during the second world war. But, at the time, there was also another army stationed in this green and pleasant land: the US Army.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR AMERICAN SERVICE MEN IN BRITAIN – Jermyn Street Theatre
We’re familiar, perhaps too familiar, with the image of Dad’s Army, gamely tramping down the country lanes and across the verdant fields of southern England during the second world war. But, at the time, there was also another army stationed in this green and pleasant land: the US Army.
THIS BEAUTIFUL FUTURE – The Yard Theatre
What is theatrical magic? I must admit that I don’t really know, but I can tell you what it’s not. It’s not bog-standard naturalistic plays with predictable plots in one-room sets with standard characters and everyday language.
THIS BEAUTIFUL FUTURE – The Yard Theatre
What is theatrical magic? I must admit that I don’t really know, but I can tell you what it’s not. It’s not bog-standard naturalistic plays with predictable plots in one-room sets with standard characters and everyday language.
LOVE IN IDLENESS – Menier Chocolate Factory
The rehabilitation of playwright Terence Rattigan has surpassed even the stage when not only are his best plays regularly revived, but also his less good work now reaches a large audience. So last year his masterpiece The Deep Blue Sea was at the National Theatre, while the enterprising Kenneth Branagh revived Harlequinade for the West End in November 2015.
LOVE IN IDLENESS – Menier Chocolate Factory
The rehabilitation of playwright Terence Rattigan has surpassed even the stage when not only are his best plays regularly revived, but also his less good work now reaches a large audience. So last year his masterpiece The Deep Blue Sea was at the National Theatre, while the enterprising Kenneth Branagh revived Harlequinade for the West End in November 2015.
THE DRESSER – West End
Great work from Ken Stott and Reece Shearsmith saves a nostalgic drama from wallowing in its own Britishness.