Category: West End
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There has been controversy in the US about a brand of rum called 'J'Ouvert'. It is a term that is both celebratory and has links with the slave trade (read more about that here), and Yasmin Jay's play beautifully captures the contradictions it represents. Set at the Notting Hill carnival Nadine (Gabrielle Brooks), Jade (Sapphire…
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If there was one play/production you could revive to watch when theatres reopen (hopefully) in May, what would you choose? Would you go for something tragic or uplifting? Maybe a comedy because a laugh would be good? This week my inbox has been busy with announcements about the first swathe of productions opening, and it…
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Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction and that's how I preambled my review of The Great Wave at the National Theatre back in 2018. It was based on real events in the 1970s and 1980s when North Korean agents abducted ordinary people from Japanese beaches in order to steal their identities or learn the…
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This week's Sunday Theatre question is about girl-power on stage – what is your favourite play or production with an all-female cast? Theatre's gender balance still has a way to go, but it feels like it has improved in recent years. Do you think? My choice for this makes a thing of having an all-female…
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Hopefully this year we'll see theatres reopening and a semblance of normality returning so with that in mind the first Sunday Theatre question of 2021 is about what your dream play would be and who would star in it. So pick a genre – or a play if you have one in mind – the…
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I love a serious play, something thought-provoking and challenging but right now, with everything that is going on, I just want a laugh. I want frothy fun that is diverting. Did behind-the-scenes farce The Comeback at the Noel Coward Theatre fit the bill? Ben Ashenden & Alex Owen in The Comeback. Photo Marc Brenner Written…
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Uncle Vanya at the Harold Pinter Theatre, starring Toby Jones, Richard Armitage, Eleanor Eleazar and Aimee Lou Wood, was one of the last plays I saw before theatres closed and it's safe to say I adored it. Which, considering me and Chekhov have a difficult relationship, is saying something. Uncle Vanya (c) Photography Seamus Ryan…
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I saw Uncle Vanya starring Toby Jones and Richard Armitage at the Harold Pinter Theatre at the beginning of March and loved it so much I was going to try and get another ticket but then lockdown happened. Uncle Vanya (c) Photography Seamus Ryan and Artwork Muse Creative Communications Much excitement then that the production…
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Humour is personal, what one person finds hilarious might fall flat for someone else. And it is really difficult to get right, comic timing is a great skill. Now I love dark comedy, the uncomfortable laugh that makes you think but I'm also partial to the silliness of a good farce. Here are my favourite…
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While there might not be quite as many meaty stage roles for actresses as there are actors (is that changing?) the plethora of acting talent I've seen over the past 10 years made this quite tricky to narrow down. Hence the list of 11 rather than a neat 10 (and presented in no particular order).…