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Father Comes Home from the Wars, Royal Court
This is a play in three parts, which sounds more grand than it actually is. It is three short plays in one evening. The trilogy is intended to be the start of another 9 parts (two plays) looking at one family from the civil war to present day. Parts 1-3 looks at the civil war…
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The Tempest, Donmar at King’s Cross
Philydia Lloyd’s production of The Tempest concludes the all-female trilogy, which will see Julius Caesar and Henry V return to Donmar’s temporary venue at King’s Cross Theatre. The productions have been set in a women’s prison and whilst I have no issue with gender casting, unlike Ronald Harwood, this feels like a gimmick that doesn’t…
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No Man’s Land, Wyndham’s Theatre
This is, without doubt, one of 2016’s must see shows. It combines a well-known play and two national treasures; Sirs Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart, as well as some excellent support from Owen Teale and Damien Molony but as strong as the performances are it is an absurdist piece and some audiences may struggle to…
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The Entertainer
The Entertainer, the final production of Kenneth Branagh’s 2015/16 season was one of my most anticipated plays of the year and failed to live up to expectations. It should work, Kenneth Branagh as Archie Rice is great casting as Branagh is often compared to Laurence Olivier who originated the role in 1956 despite his hostility…
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Pigs and Dogs, Royal Court, 20 July
Caryl Churchill’s short play about Africa’s relationship with homosexuality is incredibly effective despite being on 15 minutes. With a cast of three (Alex Waddell, Sharon D Clark anFisayo Akinade and simple direction by Dominic Cooke its source material comes from Boy-Wives and Female-Husbands: Studies in African Homosexualities, which looks at Africa’s relationship with sexuality and…
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Richard III, Almeida, 2 July 2016
A week on from seeing the other Fiennes in Chichester I am now back in London to see Ralph appear as Richard III in Rupert Goold’s production. Fiennes senior has been doing a lot of theatre recently (Man and Superman, The Master Builder) but it doesn’t stop him still being a huge draw in this small…
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Ross, Chichester Festival Theatre, 25 June 2016
You cannot move for Terence Rattigan at the moment. The National has The Deep Blue Sea, The Arcola had Kenny Morgan and Chichester had (I am afraid I saw it on its last day) Rattigan’s 1960 play Ross, about Lawrence during and after Arabia. Joseph Fiennes takes on the role of ‘Ross’ the pseudonym T.E Lawrence…
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By the End of Us, Southwark Playhouse, 7 June
Block Stop‘s By The End of Us is basically a live video game. As a result it doesn’t attract your usual theatre audience and is a great introduction to immersive theatre. There is a level of intimacy as part of the game but it isn’t so intimate that you feel uncomfortable. There are two options; the…
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Digs, New Wimbledon Theatre, 28 May 2016
Theatre with Legs present an honest, sometimes bleak but always funny look at the housing crisis. Theatre with Legs are Lucy Bairstow and Jess Murrain, who met whilst training as actors at the Royal School of Central Speech and Drama. Digs, one of the final shows of the Illuminate Festival is a look at the…
View from the Cheap Seat 