After runs in LA and at the Edinburgh Fringe, June Carryl’s BLUE brings an interesting perspective on contemporary American society to London audiences. BLUE It’s interesting sometimes, thinking about the dialogue between plays that you see. On consecutive nights this week I’ve seen For Black Boys… by Ryan Calais Cameron, and then BLUE, a work […]
Ryan Calais Cameron’s hit play For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy makes a triumphant return to the West End with an all new cast. Content Warning: includes discussion of suicidal thoughts, violence, and trauma. For Black Boys… Thank goodness for second chances. Or fourth chances, as is the […]
Lola-Rose Maxwell and Charlie Kemp achieve feats of theatre and comedy for Arcola audiences: making up a play entirely on the spot for their viewing pleasure in The Improvised Play! The Improvised Play The premise here is simple. In fact, the title says it all. After a first run in 2022 at the Royal Court, […]
This latest offering from a pared-down Spymonkey team tackles Ancient Greek comedy, as well as some introspective soul-searching. Spymonkey Does The Frogs Wasn’t I just talking recently about the joys of very unexpected theatre? Oh yes, I was. So I don’t think it will surprise you to learn that I enjoyed my first Spymonkey production […]
China Plate bring their “sneakily informative” work A Family Business to Clapham’s Omnibus Theatre, opening up a thought-provoking conversation about the ever-present threat of nuclear weapons. A Family Business Do you know what the effect of a smallish nuclear weapon landing in Clapham would be? I now do. Chris Thorpe’s A Family Business is theatre […]
A somewhat disappointing adaptation of Kafka’s classic novella, Metamorphosis is visually impressive but muddled. Metamorphosis Yes, I was disappointed. I had high hopes for this production: it reached me via targeted social media advertising and looked great. As a former student of German and aspiring member of the intelligentsia of course I’ve read The Metamorphosis. […]
Sergio Blanco’s latest play When You Pass Over My Tomb is a wild ride through London, Paris, Switzerland, taboo topics and erudite allusions. Content warning: mentions of assisted suicide and necrophilia. When You Pass Over My Tomb My beloved Like the wind When you pass over my tomb From within my grave Desirous of you […]
Samuel Takes a Break… is a challenging, funny, thoughtful, ambiguous new work on now at Hackney Wick’s Yard Theatre. Samuel Takes a Break… I have a feeling it is a good year for the Yard Theatre. The last two things I’ve seen there (this and this) have been fab. And now Samuel Takes a Break… […]
My final MimeLondon outing for 2024 is to Entrañas, an exploration of the human body in all its fragility and wonder. Back to an Old Question: What is Mime, Anyway? If you’re just catching up, this is the third event I’ve been to at MimeLondon (first two here and here). MimeLondon is the successor to […]
A story about embracing life against the odds, Wilko is a feelgood story featuring Dr. Feelgood’s distinctive guitarist. Wilko “A Christmas Carol with guitars and cancer.” As one of London’s biggest fans of A Christmas Carol (probably), it’s a line that jumped out at me. But although there are parallels (ghosts, enlightenment and so on) […]
