SWING! SWING! ADMIRAL BYNG! at the Playground Theatre is a thoughtful look at legacy and justice, with strong performances and clever design, though uneven pacing holds it back. SWING! SWING! ADMIRAL BYNG! I like serendipitous moments. One happened to me recently when I heard that a play was going to be on at the Playground […]
The meeting of two women in a London train station has all the energy and mystery of quantum physics in this queer reworking of Simon Stephens’ Heisenberg. Heisenberg Formulated by the German physicist and Nobel laureate Werner Heisenberg in 1927, the uncertainty principle states that we cannot know both the position and speed of a […]
Sisters is a rare revival of a play by David Storey, as a reunion of two sisters reveals much beneath the surface. Sisters Have you ever asked yourself what A Streetcar Named Desire would be like if it were set not in New Orleans but, say, Wakefield? If so, I have good news for you. […]
Everyone’s Worried About Eve is a sharp, pop-culture-infused solo show that explores grief and neurodivergence with humour and heart. Everyone’s Worried About Eve Two new (to me) pub theatres for this week, as we check out the Bread & Roses Theatre in Clapham. Perhaps I should look into running that pub theatre guide after all? […]
A captivating blend of mythic storytelling, poetic language, and raw theatrical energy, The Godless War is a one-man tour de force that explores the tragic allure of war through a compelling performance. The Godless War Let’s start today with another theatre discovery in South East London. For me at least – others have always known […]
On my first scratch night I see a variety of short works and excerpts in various stages of development. But for my money The Real Deal is the pick of the bunch. My First Scratch Night “Scratch nights are events where short pieces in the full variety of theatrical forms are tested in front of […]
A Little Inquest Into What We Are All Doing Here asks important questions about the role and freedom of the arts while also bringing a personal catharsis (I hope) for its creator. Content warning: contains mentions of violence and harm, real or projected, to children. A Little Inquest Into… On the way home from A […]
Darkly comic Dear Martin is an amusing “what if” about a budding friendship between a cuckolded husband and his wife’s erotic penpal, who is also a psychopath. Dear Martin It really is the curious premise that draws you into seeing a play, sometimes. Such was the case, for me, with Dear Martin by Madelaine Brettingham […]
A revival of a play by Nick Payne, One Day When We Were Young is filled with the pathos of what could have been. One Day When We Were Young On a quiet Monday evening I made my way to North London’s Park Theatre, to see a play I thought would be a sombre but […]
Brimming with good humour and a generous spirit, Trestle brings a small Yorkshire village to off-West-End London. Trestle I happened to take my partner, who is from a small Yorkshire village, to this play set in a small Yorkshire village. And one of the things he was keen to have me know was the accuracy […]
