Guest Review by Sandra Howell We Are All Complicit Louise Orwin, the writer, director and actor of A Girl and A Gun, is manipulating us, like all good play/screenwriters. We theatre and cinema-goers, sit in the dark, feeling: good, excited, scared and part of the action. We suspend our disbelief for entertainment. We are exposed…

Totally about Heroes and the Futility of War Guest Review by Sandra Howell Not About Heroes is a play written by Stephen McDonald about the relationship between  Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen, the futility of war and the personal and artistic growth of Wilfred as a man and a poet. First performed in 1982, this production is…

Poetry and Pain: Dark Comedy and Cruelty  Guest Review by Sandra Howell The mood was set by the dark scenery of black brick, interspersed with flashes of light. Hywel John has written a tightly scripted tale, set in 1950s Edinburgh, it is as brutal and harsh as the humour. The cast of three, Jo Freer,…

Guest Review by Sandra Howell Believe the Hype- Just Don’t Live the Dream Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre’s ensemble and Gecko Theatre collaborated to produce and perform a modern play inspired by A Midsummer Night’s Dream and a story called The Peony Pavillion by Tang Xianzu, who, according to the publicity, was a contemporary of Shakespeare.…