My second foray into Punchdrunk’s immersive worlds. Viola’s Room is bigger on ideas than it was on logistics during my visit. Viola’s Room This was my second trip to Punchdrunk‘s new base. I’m lucky that, as a South East Londoner, Woolwich Arsenal is not too far from me. And as I’d bought tickets early, it […]
Spirited Away brings the magic and charm of the Studio Ghibli film to the stage. Spirited Away Like buses, sometimes you can be waiting for a certain type of theatrical production for a while, and then they all come at once. So it is, seemingly, with stage adaptations of beloved Studio Ghibli animations by Hayao […]
The Last Time I Saw Caileigh encourages audiences to be open to new perspectives on non-binary identity and erasure. The Last Time I Saw Caileigh The theatre gods (I guess that’s Dionysus and the Muses…?) have a habit of programming my weeks thematically. This week’s theme is the sometimes difficult process of feeling comfortable in […]
An ambitious production, Hole takes us far beyond the confines of its pub theatre setting. Hole It’s rare, in all my theatre trips, to end up in such a different place to where I thought I was going. But such is Hole, a slightly revised revival of a work by Hannah Morrish first performed by […]
A father’s story is unravelled in front of our eyes in The Tailor of Inverness, a compelling if detail-heavy one man show by Matthew Zajac. The Tailor of Inverness In seeing this play, although this run at the Finborough Theatre is its London debut, I join a cumulative audience of more than 40,000 across at […]
Martha Watson Allpress’s Lady Dealer is a mile-a-minute play about a girl-bossing, poetic, witty drug dealer who is fine. Totally fine. Lady Dealer The more someone reassures us they’re fine, the more we know they’re not, right? Generally speaking it holds true in real life, and also very much in the dramatic format of the […]
Suzan-Lori Parks’ play The Book of Grace packs a real punch under the direction of Femi Elufowoju Jr. The Book of Grace This is the second time I’ve seen a play by Suzan-Lori Parks. Similar to other playwrights like Lynn Nottage, Parks’ work is self-referential, creating links and synergies which reward repeat forays into her […]
Polly (The Heartbreak Opera) goes back into the archives to create a very contemporary adaptation. An obscure 1729 ballad opera is the perfect source material for a modern feminist show? Tell me more! A Historic Work, Ripe for a Radical Retelling Do you have to be familiar with John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera or its […]
Rosamund Gravelle brings to life Tudor intrigues over the course of a dramatic night in Three Queens, now on at Barons Court Theatre. Three Queens What goes on behind the closed doors of the royal family? It’s something we speculate about frequently today. But this interest has been around for at least as long as […]
A new play by Sonali Bhattacharyya, Liberation Squares puts the government’s Prevent strategy under the spotlight as three Muslim schoolgirls find their path to confidence and self-determination. Liberation Squares There’s been a synergy in the theatre I’ve seen this week. A shared preoccupation between SO THAT YOU MAY GO BEYOND THE SEA and Liberation Squares […]
