The infamous Sh!t Faced Showtime are back in London with a festive edition, they have taken Dickens’ classic and put a drunken spin on it. The formula is the same as other iterations of the Shi!t Faced shows, one member of the cast has been boozing, and this time it is John Milton who plays … More A PISSEDMAS CAROL – REVIEW – LEICESTER SQUARE
Spine-tingling yet heart-warming, Mark Gatiss’s retelling of A Christmas Carol truly encapsulates the haunting atmosphere of a Victorian ghost story, balanced out with enough humour so as to capture the festive season. Led by Keith Allen as Scrooge, with Peter Forbes as Marley, this show is perfect for Christmas viewing. The set design by Paul Wills is instantly captivating, … More A CHRISTMAS CAROL – REVIEW – ALEXANDRA PALACE
The title of this winner of Theatre 503’s 2023 International Playwriting Award by Roxy Cook may seem like the set-up to a joke, but the narrative that unspools is instead an affectionate, gently barbed and at base quite sobering portrait of three ordinary souls (and one restless feline) adrift in modern Moscow. There is much … More A WOMAN WALKS INTO A BANK – REVIEW – THEATRE503
Peter Pan Goes Wrong first premiered in London at the Pleasance Theatre in 2013, and earlier this year the show made its Broadway debut. Now the production is back in the West End for the Christmas season. Following on from The Play That Goes Wrong, in this production, J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan is staged by … More PETER PAN GOES WRONG – REVIEW – LYRIC THEATRE
Drawing heavily from the classic canon of the British supernatural, HighTide’s trio of contemporary Gothic narratives uses traditional storytelling formats to address contemporary themes. Directed by Elayce Ismail, reverent musical interludes accompany tales of apparitions and nighttime conjurings that speak of women from the East of England. Unfortunately, the effect is less chilling and more … More GHOST STORIES BY CANDLELIGHT – REVIEW – SAM WANAMAKER PLAYHOUSE
Amy catches up with Linus Karp ahead of his performance of Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story, at London’s Clapham Grand. Linus and Joseph of Awkward Productions are also the masterminds behind the new show Gwyneth Goes Skiing. Hello Your Majesty/ Candle Entrepreneur, how are you feeling coming back from a hugely successful fringe and … More INTERVIEW – LINUS KARP – DIANA: THE UNTOLD AND UNTRUE STORY
The Old Vic’s A Christmas Carol is in its 7th year, with a host of famous faces having stepped into the infamous role of Ebenezer Scrooge, this year it’s Christopher Eccleston. The script, adapted by Jack Thorne, is an exciting, dramatic staging of the classic. Some may ask why a play written 180 years ago … More A CHRISTMAS CAROL – REVIEW – THE OLD VIC
What appears at first as two latecomers arriving, taking seats at the front row as the house lights dim is the first of many sly twists in this gently metaphysical comedy from writer/director Maggie Marie Casto. Oddly, the young couple (Bailey & Clay) appear from the side of the stage not accessible by the public, … More WEIRD PLACE – REVIEW – UNION THEATRE
FLIP! takes the audience on an exhilarating journey into the intricate world of social media, examining the ever-evolving digital world. We meet Carleen and Crystal (Leah St Luce and Jadesola Odunjo), a content-creating duo and inseparable best friends, who desire to become famous influencers! Their latest post pushes boundaries, but on FLIP!, a new social … More FLIP! – REVIEW – SOHO THEATRE
Amy catches up with Joe Sellman-Leava, writer and performer of Fanboy, which is currently touring across the UK. Can you tell us a little bit about the show? It’s about the things we love – whether it’s Nintendo, Star Wars or the Muppets – and the connections and communities that form around them. Fanboy looks … More INTERVIEW – JOE SELLMAN-LEAVA – FANBOY
Amy chats to Philippa Lawford, writer of Ikaria, ending its UK tour at Park Theatre in November. Can you tell us a little about Ikaria? Ikaria is a love story set in a student bedroom, over the course of a spring term at university. There are just two actors and the play is very intimate … More INTERVIEW – PHILIPPA LAWFORD – IKARIA
If you’re looking for light entertainment with a bit of royal glamour this winter, Backstairs Billy has you covered. The new comedy written by Marcelo Dos Santos paints the picture of an unusual friendship in bright aquarelles. A little too colourful, perhaps, but nice to look at, nonetheless. Billy dances on a tightrope like a circus clown, … More BACKSTAIRS BILLY – REVIEW – DUKE OF YORK’S THEATRE
Amy catches up with Aoife Kennan, who wrote and stars in Scratches. How are you feeling ahead of your opening at the Arcola after a fantastic run at Vaults? I’m a big bundle of nerves at the moment, but there’s a lot of excitement mixed in there. We had such a great response from VAULT … More INTERVIEW – AOIFE KENNAN – SCRATCHES
‘[A]ll I could see was this generation of baby boomers who had the opportunity of going to university, did so, and then never came home’. So writes playwright Richard Bean, talking about the premise of To Have and to Hold, a play about Rob, a London-based writer, and Tina, a Somerset-based businesswoman, returning to see … More TO HAVE AND TO HOLD – REVIEW – HAMPSTEAD THEATRE
This month, The Finborough Theatre ends the 35 year absence of Ena Lamont Stewart’s Knocking on the Wall from UK theatres. Despite Stewart’s success with the postwar realist drama Men Should Weep, the rest of her work has never really entered the mainstream, and thus it is wonderful to see the Finborough raise an important … More KNOCKING ON THE WALL – REVIEW – FINBOROUGH THEATRE
Transferring from the Edinburgh Fringe after a successful run and an OffFest nomination, Alison Skilbeck’s Uncommon Ground is about six wildly different people, coping and connecting during one year on the Common. It relates their unexpected tales of love, life, death and downright dottiness, while a seventh character lurks mysteriously. Partly inspired by glimpses of … More HUSBAND AND WIFE TIM HARDY AND ALISON SKILBECK BRING AWARD-WINNING WORK TO THE OLD RED LION
Although familiar with Haruki Murakami, I have not read his 1999 novel of identity, Sputnik Sweetheart. Bryony Lavery’s adaptation, premiering at the Arcola Theatre, certainly made me want to. The story of best friends Sumire and K, the latter of whom is hopelessly in love with the former, navigating the new world of adulthood; as … More SPUTNIK SWEETHEART – REVIEW – ARCOLA THEATRE
Kenneth Branagh’s King Lear succeeds in dressing a classic piece of theatre in a modern guise without losing its character. Many Lears have kept us on the edge of our seats over the years, each with their unique approach; Branagh’s take is sensitive, a slow decline into madness that threatens to break the viewer’s heart. He brings … More KING LEAR – REVIEW – WYNDHAM’S THEATRE
A near-perfect production that is electrifying, fun, and modern. Romeo & Juliet is director Nicholai La Barrie’s Royal Exchange debut, and it is a daunting venture. With Shakespeare, the difficulty is freshening the text and its themes; any Shakespearean production must justify its revival. While many people cite universal themes, exemplary dramatic narratives, and heritage … More ROMEO & JULIET – REVIEW – ROYAL EXCHANGE THEATRE
My first confession is that I do very much heart Michael Ball. In this show, which begins as a semi-immersive meeting of the Michael Ball fan club, I was grateful not to be picked on as writer/performer Alex Millington turned to audience members in the intimate space of the Old Red Lion Theatre, asking them … More I HEART MICHAEL BALL – REVIEW – OLD RED LION THEATRE
