Jake Francis is both Artistic Director of Skin and Bone Theatre and sole performer of the company’s fiery debut show, Irvine Welsh’s Filth. I saw the show in its earliest days at the Camden Fringe back in 2017 and gave it a deserved glowing write-up. Since then Jake’s one man hurricane of a show has... Continue Reading →
Interview: Forget About The Dog’s Natalie Rawel & Jordan Larkin
Forget About The Dog topped my round-up list for Best Regional Fringe Production back in 2018 with their thoroughly fantastic production of 100 Ways to Tie a Shoelace so I was very chuffed to finally have a chance to chat about the show and the company last week. A collective of five, Forget About The... Continue Reading →
Spotlight on Shakespeare: Top 5 Productions
April 2020 With celebrations of good old William Shakespeare’s ‘birthday’ everywhere this week, I got to thinking about some of the great Shakespeare productions I’ve seen over the years... let’s face it, there’s not much else to do these days but take various strolls down memory lane! There have been many productions, but only five... Continue Reading →
5 Things to Love About: Nottingham Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall
Though I’m now a Yorkshire lass, I was once Nottingham based and Nottingham Theatre Royal remains a favourite haunt of mine. I may get to visit it far less than I once did but there’s plenty to love about the very first theatre I remember visiting. The Theatre Royal is operated jointly with The Royal... Continue Reading →
Interview: Max Vernon Talks Theatre, The View UpStairs & Upcoming Work
Having won over London audiences in style last year with The View UpStairs, Max Vernon can boast success on both sides of the pond. The show premiered off Broadway in 2017 and subsequently enjoyed productions in the US and Australia before landing in London for a run at Soho Theatre. As with previous work KPOP,... Continue Reading →
Interview: Odd Doll’s Kathleen Yore
Artistic Director Kathleen Yore is all about the craft and all that goes into transporting audiences. Having formed Odd Doll in 2012 with the aim of telling visual, universally appealing stories through painstaking craft, she's been busy ever since doing exactly that. I was a huge fan of Seaside Terror after seeing it back in... Continue Reading →
Interview: Oddsocks Productions’ Elli Mackenzie & Andy Barrow
As an outdoor theatre company priding themselves on a party atmosphere and accessible entertainment for all, Oddsocks have been delighting audiences as an independent theatre company for just over 30 years. Their wonderful work bringing Shakespeare’s plays to life in brave and whacky ways places them firmly in my top five theatre companies line-up, so... Continue Reading →
Interview: Francesca Forristal Talks Theatre, Drag & the Importance of Laughing to Learn
My latest gossipy chinwag is with Francesca Forristal, comedy and songwriter, actor and drag artist extraordinaire. Here Francesca talks about getting into the arts, the importance of broad thinking when it comes to drag artists and why it’s so important to laugh at the difficult subjects in order to truly engage with and understand them.... Continue Reading →
5 Things to Love About: York Theatre Royal
A trip to one of the best, most informative theatre websites around will tell you that York Theatre Royal is not only ‘one of the oldest theatres in the UK’ sitting in the very heart of York, but it is ‘the oldest continuously operating theatre company in the English speaking world.’ As a theatre which... Continue Reading →
Interview: Red Ladder Theatre’s Rod Dixon
With theatres shuttered for the time being, I’m going to be spending a lot more time chatting to creatives (at a safe distance, naturally), and the best of the situation is that I’m going to be keeping very good company if this cracking first interview of the lockdown is anything to go by. Rod Dixon,... Continue Reading →