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Boy, Almeida, 18 April
My patience is running a bit thin with the Almeida Theatre; a mediocre Bakhai, a outright awful Medea, a boring Little Eyolf, an overlong Uncle Vanya/Johnny and now the pointless Boy. I booked based on the director-design team Sacha Wares and Miriam Buether,who previously produced the innovative Game at the Almeida. The set was going…
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Long into the night; extended productions at the theatre
My ideal format for a play is 7:30pm start, an interval at about 8:30pm or 8:45pm then a 9:30pm finish. I like an interval ice cream or else I would drop the interval altogether. Increasingly plays seem to be getting longer and longer in London theatres. This is perhaps acceptable on a Friday or Saturday…
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Illuminate Festival, Wimbledon, 2-28 May 2016
From 2-28 May New Wimbledon Theatre hosts the second Illuminate Festival, a platform showcasing work from the finest up and coming artists, everything from puppetry to folk music, comedy to spoken word and beyond. Illuminate gives audiences and artists the opportunity to explore something new. Created by Co-Artistic Directors’ Alice Sillett and Sarah Dullaghan,Illuminate invites emerging artists and established companies…
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Cyprus Avenue, Royal Court Upstairs, 16 April
My expectations were high for this joint Abbey Theatre/Royal Court production starring Stephen Rea, last seen in Ballyturk at the NT. Rea is one of my favourite actors, versatile and strangely ageless; he turns 70 in October I trust him not to put his name to anything poor. There is no doubt that David Ireland’s…
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Theatre News 8-15 April 2016
‘Poverty porn’: how middle-class theatres depict Britain’s poor (The Guardian, 15 April) Plays such as Boy, Re:Home and Yen serve up downtrodden lives for wealthy audiences – and can verge on cultural tourism. Royal Exchange commissions leading female playwrights for B!rth international festival (What’s On Stage, 14 April) Playwrights from China to Kenya will come together to…
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How Do You Solve a Problem like the National Theatre?
I’ve struggled with the productions at the National Theatre over the last 18 months or so, I don’t simply blame Rufus Norris, a lot of the National’s problems go back to changes made by Sir Nicholas Hytner as part of NT Future. I am not happy admitting this because the National is literally a national…
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May Contain Nuts: Nudity on the stage
I’ll be blunt. I enjoy the prospect of nudity, male or female I am equal opportunities, a bit too much. I think the warnings that appear on websites or via an usher’s mouth make it feel like it is a very naughty private play that the Lord Chamberlain might burst in on at any minute.…
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Shakespeare @400
23 April 2016 sees the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death. Here’s a guide to the best theatrical alternatives in London. Film BFI Shakespeare on Film, April-May Highlights in April include Ian McKellen’s screen adaptation of Richard Eyre’s Richard III (1995), an adaptation of Max Reinhardt’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1935), Kenneth Branagh’s A Much…
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In praise of…unreserved seating
This post originally appeared on London Theatre Direct 19 March 2016 I am aware some will look at this headline with confusion, maybe even repulsion but I can explain. Unreserved seating isn’t just about spoiling your pre-theatre bar time but about a fair ticketing system that allows friends to book separately and the over organised…
View from the Cheap Seat 