In Sean Holmes’ speech a few months back the Lyric’s artistic director sharply diagnosed that theatre in this country has succumbed to a corrupting reign of commercial interests over artistic merit. Holmes announced his attempt at fixing a corrupting system. The result is a season of up to seven shows the title of which would
Daunting death masks, ever-present uncanny and distorted monstrosities, overshadow the stage at the Royal Opera House. In ancient Peking princess Turandot has her suitors executed if they’re not able to answer her three riddles. It might not be a radical new version of Puccini’s piece but the handling of the melodramatic twists and some of
The great American play about the AIDS epidemic might be the 1990s Angels in America, but William M. Hoffman’s *As Is*, having premiered six years before Angels, is more raw and shows the initial anger connected with the outbreak of the disease. It highlights the immediacy of a time in which a whole city seemed
The Actor’s Church in Covent Garden is a true gem. Amidst the bustle of tourists, vendors and street performers it is an island of tranquility. Iris Theatre regularly turn the garden and the church itself into the stage for their summer outdoor performances. Their new production of Alice is cute and funny, but the story
Exciting things continue to happen at the Globe all the time. With this piece of new writing, playwright Samuel Adamson celebrates the music of Henry Purcell and give us a dramatic insight into England in the 1690s. In Gabriel, dramatic vignettes are interwoven with the music of Purcell: a piece about trumpet music has never
The Steam Industry presents an innovative approach to a well-loved piece. It’s clever, looks gorgeous and only just falls short of being an unmissable production. At the Union Theatre. Shakespeare’s problem plays are neither comedy or tragedy, and they always feel like a bit of a mixed bag. In Measure for Measure, the Duke of
Writer-director Michael Harry takes on two of the greatest British storytellers, one classic and one more recent, to create homages that throws their characters into the deep end and drown them in a sea of knowing references and silly costumes. At the Courtyard Theatre. Silly slapstick, knowing glances and audience interaction make the perfect recipe
This is the draft version of a 2012 radio programme on BBC Radio 4 for which I interviewed Thomas Ostermeier (Deutsche Schaubühne) in Berlin. I also production managed and researched for the production company (Pacificus). Here is the link to the programme page on the BBC website. It was part of a series of events
It takes a masterful playwright and confident direction to turn a dark tale about the abuse of power into a funny and entertaining romp. The new production of The Hothouse at Trafalgar Transformed only just stops short of dunking Pinter’s piece into custard and pie. The result is uncomfortably chilling, twisted and a joy to
With The Book of Mormon being the hottest selling ticket in town and shows like Jesus Christ Superstar even taking over our television casting shows, religiously-themed musicals seem to be in high demand. Now amateur company Sedos takes on the 1971 musical Godspell and puts Jesus on a skateboard. At the Bridewell Theatre. Conceived in