Where did you learn that? - Stand Up Comedy Courses, a look from the inside

Written by: Midds

It has often been a debate amongst comedians and those in the comedy industry as to whether or not you can teach someone to be funny. Therefore, Stand Up comedy courses naturally fall under scrutiny from some. An article on Chortle titled ‘You Can’t Teach Funny’ seems to sum up the scepticism that most have with the idea of a comedy course - e.g. you can’t teach someone to be funny, you can simply teach them how to deliver tired material in a decent way or create an artificial character onstage that, whilst getting you one or two laughs, isn’t natural or born in an organic way from the performer.

Don Juan Comes Back From The War - review

Written by: Seona (@SeonaMcclintock)

Finborough Theatre, London

****

‘Don Juan’ comes back from the Great War, ready to get on with his life as an infamous womaniser but a run in with death, his knife-wielding former mother-in-law to be and an old flame are all wake up calls that leave him questioning his life and identity, and searching for love and vitality in the ruins of Berlin. The production forms part of the Finborough Theatre’s Rediscoveries Season, which has unearthed six overlooked plays from across the globe, including this one, written originally by Ödön von Horváth, in a new version by Duncan Macmillan.

Char's Stars: Gathering of the Tribes

Written by: Char (@charlypies)

I’ll be honest: it’s been difficult to know what to write about this one. It seemed a performance piece that aimed to provoke a level of confusion with a side order of unexplainable suspense. So for my tardy response I apologise and plead a case of inarticulate-itus.

Purge - review

Written by: Joshua Ward

Arcola Theatre, London

****

Aliide, an elderly Estonian is reading quietly in her cabin when Zara, a young, Russian ‘dancer’, arrives on the doorstep. Bruised, bloodied and desperately seeking refuge from a hungry Mafiosi, Zara is warily allowed inside until she can make a break for the Finnish border. As they while away the hours through cagey cross-interrogation, the trials of Zara’s present begin to stir the ghosts of Aliide’s past.


Char's Stars: Shivered at Southwark Playhouse

Written by: Char (@charlypies)

There are many things in life that make this Welsh girl happy and one of those things is most definitely the work of the brilliant Philip Ridley. March 8^th had me tootling along to the gorgeously grungy Southwark Playhouse for the talented Mr. Ridley’s newest piece Shivered - and I hasten to add I did just that!

Max & Ivan are Holmes and Watson - review

Written by: Wendy (@Wendyfer1)

Soho Theatre

****

The Soho Theatre’s proximity to Oxford Street creates a trap. If you find yourself arriving three hours early for a production, the allure of the seemingly sky-scraping maze of commodities is hard to resist. Come quarter to eight, a desperate charge could be necessary to avoid missing what you actually came into London for. In my case, this was Ditto Productions’ ‘Max and Ivan are Holmes & Watson’, directed by Jessica Ransom, fresh from various fringe festivals and prepped for a brief stint in the Soho Theatre Upstairs.

Centre Stage on What's Peen Seen?: Blackshaw Theatre Company

Blackshaw are a brand new theatre company consisting of some Royal Holloway graduates. 
Below, a select few of the production team and writers answer some questions about their work with the theatre company, and how they got there!

Collaborators - review

Written by: Joshua Ward

The National Theatre, Cottesloe

***

It is 1938 and Mikhail Bulgakov, the Russian, counter-revolutionary satirist, has awoken to a dilemma. After years of stifled creativity, Joseph Stalin, the tormentor of his nightmares, his most formidable censor and ‘number one fan’, wants to collaborate on a brand new work celebrating the dictator’s youth. Can Bulgakov deliver the goods and claim his reward (a rejuvenated writing career) with his bourgeois ideologies intact? Or is this an elaborate social experiment spun by a bored bureaucrat to rob Bulgakov of his bite?