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‘Feels like a really essential piece of contemporary culture’: TRUTH’S A DOG MUST TO KENNEL – Battersea Arts Centre

In London theatre, Opinion, Other Recent Articles, Plays, Reviews by Aleks SierzLeave a Comment

Has theatre’s time passed? In Tim Crouch’s latest 70-minute show, Truth’s a Dog Must to Kennel, first staged at the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh last year and now at Battersea Arts Centre (BAC) in south London, the nature of live performance is interrogated by this innovative and imaginative theatre-maker, with a little help from a virtual reality headset and William Shakespeare.

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‘A well overdue production of an elusive play’: HENRY VIII – Shakespeare’s Globe ★★★★

In London theatre, Opinion, Other Recent Articles, Plays, Reviews by Debbie GilpinLeave a Comment

Written in collaboration with John Fletcher, Henry VIII is quite possibly Shakespeare’s final play – but, despite this country’s continued obsession with all things Tudor, it remains a rarely performed piece. Imagine the delight of Shakespeare completists everywhere when it was announced as part of the Globe’s 2022 summer season, this time in a slightly updated version that sees Hannah Khalil (resident writer) become the third collaborator; the original has a heavy male focus, thanks in part to the two (male) playwrights having to work around the expectations of the establishment to avoid censorship and arrest – but now 400 years have passed, it’s about time the female voices in this story were heard as well.

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‘Absolutely worth investing your time in’: HENRY VI: WARS OF THE ROSES – Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford upon Avon ★★★★

In Opinion, Other Recent Articles, Plays, Regional theatre, Reviews by Debbie GilpinLeave a Comment

Running in rep alongside Henry VI: Rebellion (a.k.a. Henry VI, part two), the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Royal Shakespeare Theatre is also currently home to Henry VI, part three. As with the previous part, this third play in Shakespeare’s first Henriad has been renamed – going under the title Henry VI: Wars of the Roses.