Spies Like Us are bringing not one but two pieces to the 2020 Vault Festival. One - Our Man in Havana - is a fully fledged production which has already gained significant recognition and the other - Speed Dial - is a work in progress. With both arriving on the Vault scene between 3-7th March... Continue Reading →
Amélie The Musical: A Wonderful Staging of Whimsical Beauty
Tuesday 31st December 2019 at The Other Palace, London. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Let me start by admitting that I didn’t see Amélie the movie (I know...but that rock I was living under was cosy). The very best thing about Amélie The Musical however, is the way in which this fantastic cast deliver Michael Fentiman’s gorgeously whimsical staging... Continue Reading →
Interview: Will Maynard Talks All Things Emlyn Williams’ The Wind of Heaven
Finborough Theatre’s Christmas season opener may be a surprise to some but in staging The Wind of Heaven, the Finborough is bringing back this work of Emlyn Williams after a 75 year absence from the London stage. It’s a play certain to find resonance with our troubled times and as it looks at the role... Continue Reading →
Master Harold and the Boys: When the Relatively Ordinary Becomes Catastrophic
Saturday 2nd November 2019 at the National Theatre. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Athol Fugard’s Master Harold and the Boys is a pretty excellent creation. It’s fascinating in its approach to plucking the rotten fruit of history and placing it before us while simultaneously providing us with a very recognisable and relatable dynamic. In this instance however, the rather... Continue Reading →
The Son: The Complex Struggle of those who are Helpless
Wednesday 28th August 2019 at the Duke of York’s Theatre. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Stories without neat and easy conclusions are often the most powerful and such is certainly the case with the Kiln Theatre’s production of Florian Zeller’s The Son. Translated by Christopher Hampton and directed by Michael Longhurst, this is an excellent drama but it also... Continue Reading →
Queen of the Mist: Recognising Those Who Dare
Wednesday 28th August 2019 at the Charing Cross Theatre. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ What happens when a woman goes above and beyond what others do in the same field, outshining the lot of them with an audaciously unwavering self-belief leading to unprecedented success? She doesn’t get what she’d hoped for, naturally! Such is the case in 1901 as... Continue Reading →
The View UpStairs: Exceptional New Work
Thursday 1st August 2019 at Soho Theatre, London. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Rarely do shows make me want to re-live the first five minutes just as soon as they’ve passed by. From the rousing, buoyant opening number to the moving tear-jerker closing moments, The View Upstairs proves itself to be an exceptional contemporary work which is as fun-loving... Continue Reading →
Interview: Tom Mangan Talks Rendered Retina’s Form
Rendered Retina are bringing their show Form to the Camden Fringe this year after winning the Les Enfants Terrible Award and Best Show at Paris Fringe in 2017 and 2018 respectively. Expect non-verbal storytelling, explorations of the world of work and 20,000 paper balls... The show plays the Camden People’s Theatre 19-21 August (tickets here)... Continue Reading →
Equus: Intense Psychological Thriller Delivers
Wednesday 24th July 2019 at the Trafalgar Studios, London. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Peter Shaffer’s Equus is a dark psychological thriller which delves into the mind of a troubled teenager but also the mind of the man tasked with helping him. In short, Alan Strang (Ethan Kai) blinds six horses. He’s taken by magistrate Hesther Salomon (Natalie Radmall-Quirke)... Continue Reading →
A Midsummer Night’s Dream: A Thrilling Production Filled With Inspired Departures
Wednesday 24th July 2019 at the Bridge Theatre, London. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ If ever there was a perfect production to introduce a person to the wonders of Shakespeare, it’s this one. It’s rare for a production to really bring fresh new dimensions to Shakespeare’s work but with this take on A Midsummer Night’s Dream, there’s budget and... Continue Reading →