View Post

‘An incredible debut’: SAP – Touring

In London theatre, Opinion, Other Recent Articles, Plays, Regional theatre, Reviews, Touring by Liz DyerLeave a Comment

It doesn’t take long to understand why Rafaella Marcus’ debut play Sap garnered so many rave reviews at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe. The quality of the writing and its exceptional delivery under Jessica Lazar’s direction make an instant impression, even before the complexity of the play and its themes fully comes to light.

View Post

‘Feels depressingly timely’: RUSH – Chickenshed Theatre

In London theatre, Opinion, Other Recent Articles, Plays, Reviews by Liz DyerLeave a Comment

In a week when the UK government doubled down on its harmful and divisive rhetoric with regard to refugees and immigrants, Chickenshed’s new spring show Rush feels depressingly timely. At its core the story of three women from different generations of the same family, the show also tells a much wider tale that both celebrates black culture and laments its erosion across the centuries.

View Post

‘Clever, multi-layered comedy’: THE PLAY WITH SPEECHES – Jack Studio Theatre

In London theatre, Opinion, Other Recent Articles, Plays, Reviews by Liz DyerLeave a Comment

“Complicated, isn’t it?” says one of the characters early on in James Woolf’s The Play With Speeches – and they’re not wrong. As writer Anthony (Matthew Parker) sits down with director Penny (Katherine Reilly) to audition actors for his new play, they discover to their surprise that someone’s been selling tickets, and now they have an audience (us).

View Post

‘You can’t help but leave feeling uplifted’: SCRATCHES – Vault Festival

In Festivals, London theatre, Opinion, Other Recent Articles, Plays, Reviews by Liz DyerLeave a Comment

The subject of Aoife Kennan’s Scratches is a tough one for many reasons – one of which is that, for very good reasons, she can’t actually talk openly about it. And so a sort of code develops between performers and audience over the course of this courageous, devastating and yet simultaneously very funny one-hour show, in which any reference to its core topic is described only as “the Thing”.

View Post

‘We’re left wanting more & that’s never a bad thing’: SALT-WATER MOON – Finborough Theatre

In London theatre, Opinion, Other Recent Articles, Plays, Reviews by Liz DyerLeave a Comment

Though it’s considered to be a Canadian classic, it’s somehow taken nearly 40 years for David French’s Salt-Water Moon to reach the UK, directed by Peter Kavanagh at the Finborough. Part of the semi-autobiographical “Mercer series”, this gentle two-hander introduces us to Jacob (Joseph Potter), newly returned to his Newfoundland home after a year in Toronto, and Mary (Bryony Miller), the sweetheart he’s come to win back.

View Post

‘Such warmth, inclusivity & pure joy’: JACK! – Chickenshed Theatre

In London theatre, Musicals, Opinion, Other Recent Articles, Plays, Reviews by Liz DyerLeave a Comment

It’s the festive season, and of all the Christmas shows on offer this year, I’m not sure they could possibly come much bigger than Chickenshed’s Jack! Playing is believing… As ever, the North London theatre company’s end-of-year spectacular is staggering in its ambition, with a cast of 800 in total across four revolving rotas. And if that inevitably means that at times things get a bit chaotic, it’s a small price to pay for a show with such warmth, inclusivity and pure joy.

View Post

‘There’s so much joy & heart’: LA MAUPIN – Lion & Unicorn Theatre

In London theatre, Musicals, Opinion, Other Recent Articles, Reviews by Liz DyerLeave a Comment

La Maupin is a folk punk musical celebrating this queer icon, written by Olivia Thompson and performed by a small cast of actor-musicians from female-led theatre company Fantastic Garlands. The story follows Julie on a rollercoaster ride as she runs from the law, fights in duels, joins the opera, falls in and out of love with men and women alike, moves to Paris, gets another death sentence – and does it all while being unequivocally, unapologetically herself, even when everything and everyone seems to be against her.

View Post

‘The central themes remain as relevant as ever’: A SINGLE MAN – Park Theatre

In London theatre, Opinion, Other Recent Articles, Plays, Reviews by Liz DyerLeave a Comment

Based on the novel by Christopher Isherwood and adapted by Simon Reade, A Single Man follows a day in the life of George (Theo Fraser Steele), a middle-aged British professor living in Los Angeles, as he wakes, goes to work, visits a friend, has dinner with another, encounters one of his students in a bar, and finally falls into bed back at home.

View Post

‘Has the makings of a very important piece of theatre’: GUINEA PIGS – The Space

In London theatre, Opinion, Other Recent Articles, Plays, Reviews by Liz DyerLeave a Comment

There’s a lot to appreciate in Guinea Pigs at The Space. The central inspiration is a topic that’s been deliberately covered up and will therefore be news to many audience members, and Elin Doyle’s script both asks challenging questions about the rights and wrongs of nuclear armament, and draws neat parallels between the UK’s political situation in the 1980s and in 2022 (in summary, not much has changed).

View Post

‘True crime done right’: THE QUALITY OF MERCY – Courtyard Theatre

In London theatre, Opinion, Other Recent Articles, Plays, Reviews by Liz DyerLeave a Comment

Theatre doesn’t get much more personal than this. The Quality of Mercy is the story of serial killer Harold Shipman, written and performed by Edwin Flay – a patient of Shipman’s as a child, and the grandson of Renee Lacey, who died at the Hyde GP’s hands when she was just 63 years old. Set in his cell on the night Shipman will take his own life, the play sees him recording a final tape, looking back on his life and crimes, and attempting to justify his motivation for ending so many innocent lives.

View Post

’Heartbreaking story told beautifully’: MOMENT OF GRACE – Hope Theatre

In London theatre, Opinion, Other Recent Articles, Plays, Reviews by Liz DyerLeave a Comment

Inspired by the moment in April 1987 when the princess opened Britain’s first HIV/AIDS unit at London’s Middlesex Hospital and challenged public perceptions of the disease by shaking hands with patients, Moment of Grace at the Hope Theatre draws on a number of voices to paint a powerful picture of that day and its far-reaching impact.

View Post

‘An innovative & effective piece of theatre’: TEN DAYS IN A MADHOUSE – Jack Studio Theatre

In London theatre, Opinion, Other Recent Articles, Plays, Reviews by Liz DyerLeave a Comment

Going in, it’s hard to know if the technical aspects of Douglas Baker’s production of Ten Days In A Madhouse at Jack Studio Theatre will feel gimmicky, but it quickly becomes evident that there’s no such danger; every part of the play has obviously been well thought through and when put together it all works extremely well.