Mydidae - review

Written by: Peeny (@AdamPeeny)

Where's Peen been?
Trafalgar Studios, London
Was Peen keen?
*****

There must be something in the water at Trafalgar Studios – that’s right, the actual, flowing water that they use in this production – to help make it so damn brilliant. It’s a good job it is so fantastic, to make all of the plumbing work worthwhile.

Purple Heart - review

Written by: Anna Jones (@Now4567Anna)

Gate Theatre, London

*****

Bruce Norris is a master manipulator of language; his play Clybourne Park won every drama prize available to it (including a Tony, Olivier and the Pulitzer Prize), and Purple Heart exhibits once again his deftness and skill. Superb performances from Nathan Kiley (Thor), Rosemary Prinz (Grace), Christopher Evan Welch (Purdy) and Laurie Metcalf (Carla) bring to life this twisted, traumatic tale of mishandled and misplaced love. All set against the oppressive backdrop of 1970’s Vietnam disillusionment and domesticity.  

Facts - review

Written by Andrew Crane (@AndrewRCrane)

Finborough Theatre, London

*****

An Israeli, a Palestinian, and a Jew walk into an interrogation room… whilst potentially being the set up for a rather non-PC joke, it also forms the basis of Canadian playwright Arthur-Milner’s politically charged UK debut. And what a debut; Facts is as nerve-racking as they come, blending a highly intelligent script with a tension that grips like a vice, it’s both exhilarating and poignant.

Centre Stage on What's Peen Seen?: Jack Thorne

BAFTA award-winning Jack Thorne is a writer for Film & TV, with series such as Shameless and Skins firmly under his belt. After making a brave switch to the London stage, his latest play Mydidae went down a treat at Soho Theatre. Having now transferred to Trafalgar Studios in London's West End, we've had a little chat with Jack to find out how he's feeling, the truth behind his latest superb project (we raved about it here) and we discover why he loves his job so much. 

(Oh, and psst, we have a competition going here until the 8th March 2013 for you to win a signed poster for this very production.)

Trelawny of the Wells - review

Written by: Christianna Mason (@Christianna_L_M)

Donmar Warehouse, London
*****

“Well…it’s not exactly A Chorus Line” one audience member shrewdly points out during the interval.  It certainly isn’t and it’s all the better for it. Witty, stylish and clever; this play is about theatre people, for theatre people.

A Chorus Line - review

Written by: Peeny (@AdamPeeny)

Where's Peen been?
Palladium, London
Was Peen keen?
****

A Chorus Line is 120 minutes of musical theatre celebrating itself, purely demonstrating the glitz of performing on a big stage, but the hard graft that comes in equal measure. This is a major revival of a groundbreaking American musical suitably timed to pay a great tribute to the multi award-winning composer, Marvin Hamilisch, who unexpectedly passed in August 2012.

Bottleneck - review

Written By: Lily Grouse (@LilyKG)

Soho Theatre, London

*****

This is one of those occasions in which I was genuinely blown away. Bottleneck is a powerful script, and its realisation on stage is just as strong. Playwright Luke Barnes captures the 1989 Hillsborough disaster with a sensitive and personal approach, his piece bursting in equal measure with moments of trauma and comedy. I urge you not to pass up the opportunity to see it. 

Love on Trial - review

Written by: Naomi Lawson (@NaomiMLawson)

Ovalhouse, London

****

Any play that begins with a rendition of George Michael’s Faith certainly captures the attention of an audience. And indeed, Bilimankhwe Arts’ Love on Trial is a one-man play about illegal homosexuality in Malawi, another of the Ovalhouse’s Counter Culture commissions, where our attention is gripped throughout.

Odyssey - review

Written by: Caroline Mathias (@caroveraclare)

Battersea Arts Centre, London
*****

The Paper Cinema's Odyssey is described as a combination of live music, illustration, puppetry and ‘manual animation’, all things I like. I am hopeful of great things as I approach the beautiful Battersea Arts Centre. This is The Paper Cinema’s return to BAC after touring nationally with this ancient tale of a father’s journey home from the Trojan War. The action – a story whose outlines I remember from school but whose details I had largely forgotten – is illustrated, filmed live and projected onto the sail of Odysseus’ ship.

Chess - review

Written by: Stephen St. Clement

Union Theatre, London
****

Given that the Union Theatre’s production of the rarely performed musical Chess comes with the official endorsement of its co-creator Sir Tim Rice, expectations are high for this first major London production of the show since 2008. So high, in fact, that by press night the entire one-month run had already sold out, rendering this review somewhat redundant. Nevertheless, it is well worth marking this latest, “definitive” chapter in the on-going saga surrounding a show which has undergone more rewrites than a BBC Newsnight Special.

The Cabinet of Dr Caligari - review

Written by: Andrew Crane (@AndrewRCrane)

Arcola Theatre, London

*****

Perhaps the best introduction to The Cabinet of Dr Caligari and indeed to this company came at about an hour into the piece when the audience is presented with the line: “We don’t have much, but we’ll dazzle them with what we have: a few sheets, some wood, and plenty of imagination” and dazzle us they did. You will never see a company who can captivate so completely with so little as Simple8. Self-described as ‘poor’ theatre, they adapt this cinematic classic on a shoestring budget with such incredible skill and effect; it will simply blow you away.

Midnight Tango - review

Written by: Alisdair Hinton (@AliHinton88)

Phoenix Theatre, London
*****

No puns or clever lines, no smart word games playing on the shows themes, Midnight Tango is a joy, a triumph from start to finish. Go and see it. 

Sour Lips - review

Written by: Daisy Thurston-Gent (@daisytgpoetry)

Ovalhouse, London
*****

Gathered in the bar area of the Ovalhouse Theatre, guests are aware of an underlying sense of excitement as they await the highly anticipated return of Omar El-Khairy’s cultural explosion Sour Lips. Originally developed through the Ovalhouse FiRST BiTE programme in 2012 (and now in association with Paper Tiger) as the theatre itself celebrates its 50^th birthday, Sour Lips marks the open to Ovalhouse’s Counterculture season which aims to promote new political voices through challenging original plays that are as bold as they are stylish. This show is force that tears through its audience, working relentlessly in order to achieve its soaring ambitions.

Lean - review

Written by: Ed Theakston (@EdTheakston)

Tristan Bates Theatre, London
*****

Written by Isley Lynn, a graduate of both the Royal Court and the National Theatre Aftershocks young writers’ programmes, Lean is an incredibly powerful piece of new writing. Lynn puts front and centre the subject of male anorexia, and treats it sensitively while managing to be informative.

A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings - review

Written by: Anna Jones (@Now4567Anna)

Battersea Arts Centre, London
*****

Based on the 1955 short story by Literature Nobel Prize winner Gabriel García Márquez, this bitter sweet fable is beautifully reimagined with a cast of over 100 puppets by the Little Angel Theatre and Kneehigh, working in collaboration for the first time. Created in 2011 by Little Angel to celebrate their 50^th Anniversary; this production contains all the heart, hilarity, and skill that we have come to expect from both companies.

Overruled - review

Written by: Andrew Crane (@AndrewRCrane)

Old Red Lion Theatre, London

****

In the modest auditorium of The Old Red Lion Theatre, Wilmington Theatre Company have created something quite special in their debut production. A trio of short comedies by George Bernard Shaw have been brought together to prove that with spectacularly good acting, Shaw’s writing can still stand up to anything written today. Incredibly slick and eye-wateringly funny, if the rest of 2013 can bring theatre this good, we’re in for a very exciting year.

Crazy For You - review

Written by: Josh Brown (@JoshPBrown)

Upstairs at the Gatehouse, London
****

Warm fires, great grub, and friendly faces; the Gatehouse is a hospitable and homely Highgate pub, serving as the ideal retreat from a brisk and, as always in Britain, soggy trek through London. The pub’s jovial atmosphere drifts upstairs to the theatre, fashioning the perfect ambience for the 1992 jukebox musical, Crazy For You. 

Midnight's Pumpkin - review

Written by: Anna Jones (@Now4567Anna)

Battersea Arts Centre, London
*****

If you’re looking for where the party’s at this Christmas, look no further. It’s actually at the Battersea Arts Centre. Kneehigh, the Cornish based theatre company du jour who brought us productions such as The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, The Red Shoes and A Matter of Life and Death have turned out a proper cracker full of joy and humour this Christmas. With excellent songs accompanied live throughout (music by Stu Barker, Ian Ross & Stuart McLoughlin) and the chance to get on down in the two intervals, surely no other show in London will see you exuberantly doing the “YMCA” as you conga out of the Grand Hall.

Privates on Parade - review

Written by: Alisdair Hinton (@AliHinton88)

Noel Coward Theatre, London
*****

If Director Michael Grandage maintains this standard for his season of five plays at the Noel Coward theatre he will achieve something astonishing, for the moment though, this is an excellent start. With Grandage at the helm Privates on Parade, Peter Nichols’ 1977 music comedy transcends its time of writing and becomes startlingly current. The production asks us to consider what happens when the British leave a war zone, what too much luxury leads to, and just what is the “ordinary” England that is worth fighting for? It is relevant, exciting and feels as though it could have been written yesterday.

Sweet Smell of Success - review

Written by: Jessica Gardner (@JessyGardner)

Arcola Theatre, London
*****

Success can not only be smelt in this show, but seen, heard, and felt too. As soon as you enter the brick walled auditorium of the Arcola, you realise that you are not in a theatre at all but in an intimate jazz bar in the 1950s. The set, although extremely minimalist offers the perfect hints to era and location which is also supported by the Arcola’s set up. With the use four stage entrances that surround the audience and the intimate staging, you are immediately drawn into the performance with great ease. With a few tables with 50’s lamps elegantly set in the centre it was really as if you were in the same bar as the whole cast.