London has an abundance of pub theatres, and the Old Red Lion in Islington is one of my favourites. The space is tiny with pew-like seating on two sides of the tea-tray sized stage.
10 plays that, in hindsight, feel strangely appropriate for lockdown during a pandemic
The coronavirus pandemic and lockdown has thrown a whole new light on certain plays, the ones about isolation, loneliness and surreal landscapes.
The best play I’ve seen for each of the past 10 years (aka the agony-to-choose list)
Not to let a decade of theatre bloggery go by without marking the occasion, to kick things off, I’ve compiled a list of my favourite play for each year I’ve been blogging. It has been fun revisiting my best-of lists but absolute agony narrowing each list down to just one.
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.
No re-admittance vs permitting latecomers – a story of missing the plot
It’s not a joke waiting for a punchline, rather it’s something I’ve been puzzling over ever since I had my view and enjoyment of a play disturbed not once but twice by latecomers.
Pinter & misogyny post #MeToo: Was the playwright ahead of the curve or playing for laughs?
Pinter Six of the Pinter at the Pinter season is the first that I can say I quite enjoyed but it didn’t stop a nagging question I’ve had for a while: Was Pinter a misogynist? I’m not alone as it was the first question in the post-show Q&A with director Jamie Lloyd and cast members Celia Imrie, Ron Cook and Abraham Popoola.
Nine plays Rev Stan is particularly looking forward to seeing in 2019
Starting off 2019 with plenty of theatre in the diary, these are the nine plays Rev Stan is particularly looking forward to seeing.
Can we move beyond gender-swapping roles on stage & write better characters for women?
A theatre announces that a classic male role will be played by a woman and gets a plethora of headlines as a result. While giving a woman a meaty, lead role is something to be applauded, it exposes the shortcomings in onstage equality in theatreland. Gender swapping characters isn’t fresh, new and exciting, it’s starting to feel overused, calculated and like lip-service.
Is it time for theatres to reward loyal ticket buyers and how should it be done?
When tickets went on sale for the concluding play in Jamie Lloyd’s Pinter at the Pinter season – Betrayal starring Tom Hiddleston – those who had already booked tickets for other, arguably less commercial plays, were given 24-hours priority booking.
Theatre thoughts: Eight ways we can all #BeMoreMatilda
There’s a lot we can learn from her – so to celebrate the show’s (almost) eighth birthday, here are eight ways we can all #BeMoreMatilda…
Final thoughts on my first trip to the Edinburgh Fringe or lessons in diverse programming
Theatre is supposed to reflect society, challenge and change but how can it do that when its programming doesn’t fully embrace the full gamut of ethnicity, sexual orientation and balance of gender?