It was a great big family affair for my post-show Q&A at Call Me Vicky at the Pleasance Theatre this past weekend. The new one-act comedy-drama marks the playwriting debut for sisters Stacey and Nicola Bland, who also perform in the cast, and their mum, dad and nan were in proud attendance.
My Dad’s Gap Year Q&A video & photos: Launching Tom Wright & Rikki Beadle-Blair’s unstoppable collaboration
The Park Theatre has been absolutely buzzing with two sell-out shows, including in Park 90, Tom Wright’s debut play My Dad’s Gap Year, which has nearly sold out the rest of its run too. What’s the secret alchemy between Wright and his director Rikki Beadle-Blair?
‘A collage of anecdotes and feelings’: 147Hz CAN’T PASS – Edinburgh Fringe
Ink Asher Hemp (they/them) is trans nonbinary. They are taking up space and they are not apologising in this one-person show with a bit of spoken word that overviews trans and queer issues.
BULLISH – Camden People’s Theatre
Asterion wanders through the night, in a world that doesn’t really fit them. The minotaur of Greek myth, Asterion is the only one of their kind to exist. Asterion is bull-ish, neither human nor bull. Or, both human and bull.
HIR – Bush Theatre
Issac is returning home after a three-year stint as a US marine where his job was to pick up body parts after front line attacks. He longs for the peace and quiet of his nuclear family and the familiarity of middle America so he can make peace with the demons of war.
THE MUTANT MAN – Space Arts Centre
Contemporary pop culture is awash with true crime stories: NPR’s Serial, HBO’s The Jinx and Netflix’s Making of a Murder are just a few titles that have recently gripped public imagination. It is therefore not surprising that two plays about the life of Harry Crawford, born Eugenia Falleni in 1875, have been dramatised in the last few years.
Edinburgh Fringe: Love, Lies & Taxidermy & Scorch
First loves: awkward, hormonal milestones of young adulthood that make you feel like you’re on top of the world in a bubble that’s just the two of you. That is, unless you’re a trans or gender fluid teen who is still exploring gender identity, or someone with extensive family problems.
ROTTERDAM – Trafalgar Studios
Though this isn’t an “awareness” piece per se, the humanity and insight into transgender transition Rotterdam provides is hugely important and valuable.
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JESUS, QUEEN OF HEAVEN – Manchester
The sweet powdery scent of incense wafts past as the doors swing open at St Chrysostom’s Church in Manchester. Framed by beautiful arches and stained glass windows, smiling faces welcome the audience in for an alternative service – The Gospel According to Jesus, Queen of Heaven by playwright and performer Jo Clifford. This thoughtful and engaging solo show re-imagines the Gospels with a transgender Jesus.
TEDDY FERRARA – Donmar Warehouse
Five years ago, Tyler Clementi, a bespectacled 18-year-old freshman at Rutgers University in New Jersey jumped off the George Washington Bridge. His room-mate Dharun Ravi had set up a video camera to secretly record Clementi’s tryst with another male student and broadcast it on the internet. Thanks to New Jersey’s muddled legislation on hate crime, Ravi served only 20 days of his sentence.