Posts tagged "play review"
Patrick Marber, known for his sharp interpretations of human interactions most notably with Closer and Dealer’s Choice, returns with an abridged version of his 2011 play set in a non-league football club. The Red Lion represents the club’s mascot and portrays the relationship between Jimmy, the club manager, Yates, the kitman and a young player, Jordan. All three are brought together by their love of the game but harbour ambitions...
Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlow and Colin Teevan Directed by Jamie Lloyd Duke of York’s Theatre, London until June 25th 2016 Jamie Lloyd has a wide spectrum of, usually very dark, talent. His delivery of The Ruling Class was brilliantly measured but his recent production of Jean Genet’s 1947 play The Maids, of two servants performing sadomasochistic ritual role-play involving plans to murder their mistress, was too sharp a dose...
The Moderate Soprano – a play by David Hare Hampstead Theatre until November 28th 2015 The Moderate Soprano is the latest masterpiece from multi award winning writer David Hare, whose works include Plenty and The Vertical Hour. The story is about John Christie and his labour of love: the building of Glyndebourne in 1934, the opera house located on the Sussex Downs. But it goes much deeper for...
Ticking – a play by Paul Andrew Williams Trafalgar Studios, London until 7th November 2015 A condemned man struts and smokes his last few hours of life in the confines of a Chinese prison. He’s alone, except for “Charlie”, his seemingly mute guard. Not that his actual name is Charlie but rather a reference to the throw back term coined by the Americans in the Vietnam War. Yes, the...
Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare, a Cheek by Jowl production (in Russian) Silk Street Theatre, Barbican Centre until 25th April 2015 www.cheekbyjowl.com It takes a huge amount of creativity, imagination and bravery to stage Shakespeare's Measure for Measure in Russian and make the result as compelling as it is powerful. But this production is masterminded by Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod, the co-Artistic directors behind the innovative theatre company,...
A View from the Bridge by Arthur Miller A Young Vic Production at the Wyndham’s Theatre until April 11 2015 Mark Strong’s portrayal of longshoreman, Eddie Carbone, in the Young Vic’s revival of Arthur Miller’s 1955 tragedy will be remembered for his sheer depth as an actor. Set amongst Italian immigrants around the docks near Brooklyn, Miller’s play charts the story of Eddie’s inappropriate feelings for his niece, Catherine. Director...
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown – a musical by Jeffery Lane based on the film by Pedro Almodovar Playhouse Theatre London – booking until August 2015 Pedro Almodovar’s 1988 wacky film is transformed into a musical by Jeffery Lane and David Yazbek. Tamsin Greig takes the lead role of Pepa Marcos, a lovelorn actress with a penchant to mixing gazpacho with sleeping pills. The first half of...
My Night with Reg a play by Kevin Elyot A re-post of my review from the production at the Donmar Warehouse West End transfer from the Donmar Warehouse to Apollo Theatre until April 11th 2015 www.apollotheatrelondon.co.uk/my-night-with-reg/ Alcohol flows and fags are chain smoked while David Bowie’s Starman belts out, hitting everyone in the audience. The scene is set for the revival of Kevin Elyot’s award-winning 1994 comedy, My...
The Armour - a play by Ben Ellis, produced by Defibrillator www.defibrillatortheatre.com Until 4th April 2015 Theatre becomes an even more intimate experience when performed in small spaces and, therefore by default, with a limited, but privileged, audience.The Langham Hotel plays host again to Defibrillator, a rapidly emerging theatre company that specialises in site specific productions, with The Armour a new play by Ben Ellis. During the course of 90...
Bull - a play by Mike Bartlett Young Vic until 14th February 2015 The staging consists of a boxing ring in the middle of the theatre while the soundtrack from Rocky blares as the audience contemplates what sort of fight is about to start; and then there’s a countdown, usually associated with a boxer down in the ring, five, four, three, two, one, and the action starts. Mike Bartlett, who has...