Rev Stan's Theatre Blog

London theatre reviews and interviews

recent posts

about

  • Review: Beige, Riverside Studios (and Camden Fringe)

    Jessica Nlabu and Shannon Kurlander in Beige at Riverside Studios. Photo: Rebecca Tozzoli Clozza

    Beige is a powerful play but not an easy one to describe.

    Joy (Jessica Nlabu) is instructed in how to be and behave. Initially, it feels like an audition or interview conducted by a sharp-suited, stiletto-wearing Shannon Kurlander.

    But as the play progresses, Kurlander starts to feel more like the personified voice of a general ‘society’ or a toxic mentor.

    She imposes societal expectations on Joy, testing her ability to conform and asking her to behave in a way that feels ‘safe’ and ‘comfortable’ to the majority.

    The audition/tasks take in the physical, emotional and cultural. The aim is to strip away anything that doesn’t toe a particular line.

    Being ‘beige’ or neutral is perceived as good because Joy can then be moulded to society’s whims. It makes her Instagrammable.

    But the play exposes the absurdity and destructive nature of such pressure and trying to conform through its contradictions. Be wild yet tame. Exotic but employable.

    (more…)

  • Review: Sick Dog, Bread & Roses Theatre

    Sick Dog is the second play I’ve seen this summer about a young person with a terminal illness, and while Before I’m Dead focused on a relationship with a therapist, this centres on a relationship with a care robot.

    Scientist Winnie’s (Cara Crofts) illness is not revealed, but what is clear is that she is keeping friends and family at a distance, preferring instead to stay at home with the robot – Eliza (Pearl D’Souza) – she has created.

    She is tetchy towards Eliza, finding her efficiency with chores and not-quite-human reactions annoying, but Eliza has a way with her that begins to break down that initial frustration.

    Eliza learns about human relationships through watching episodes of Love Island with Winnie and what she tells her about her own past relationships. And

    While there is an eagerness to please and a simplicity to Eliza, there is an underlying wisdom in her responses, and Winnie starts to learn about humanity from her robot.

    It is one of several ironies that weave through the story.

    (more…)

  • Review: In His Words, Bread & Roses Theatre

    Megan Goldsman, Heather Woodhouse and Madeline Horan – In His Words, Bread & Roses Theatre. Photo: Maria Rangoni

    What would you do if you were cast in a play only to discover that it was written by your ex and about your relationship?

    That’s the central premise of In His Words, and Esther (Heather Woodhouse) decides she’s going to stick it out and see how he ends the play.

    Meanwhile, her girlfriend Isabella (Megan Goldsman) has got a job looking after an old lady with Alzheimer’s who is obsessed with a particular cave.

    There is a lot of nature in this play with references to crickets, slugs, butterflies and whales. There are also literary references.

    A Miss Havisham character (Madeline Horan) floats around the stage in a wedding dress, sometimes repeating lines, singing occasionally, touching, embracing or dancing with Esther and Isabella. The couple also read out passages from The Picture of Dorian Gray to each other.

    (more…)

  • Edinburgh Fringe preview: Krapp’s Last Tape, Calder Bookshop Theatre

    Video transcript: Did you know that there is a performance space at the back of the Calder Bookshop on the Cut, opposite the Young Vic?

    I didn’t until the brilliant blogger Lou Reviews asked me if I would join her for an Edinburgh preview performance of Krapp’s Last Tape, starring David Westhead and directed by Stockard Channing. [Details of Edinburgh Fringe run below.]

    Now I saw this play back in May with Gary Oldman, and I actually saw him perform it up in York last year.

    And this is a very different beast because it’s such a tiny, tiny little performance space. It’s very intimate, and that really brings out the delicacy of the performance because you’re so close.

    (more…)

  • Video review: The Cherry Orchard, Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon

    Video transcript: The Cherry Orchard at the Swan Theatre in Stratford.

    The Cherry Orchard isn’t a favourite play of mine, but the cast – Kenneth Branagh, Helen Hunt, Bill Pullman – that’s what got me up to Stratford-upon-Avon for this.

    And it was amazing to see the cast. That was a real highlight for me, particularly Kenneth Branagh.
    He performs in a Northern Irish accent, and it really changed my perspective of him as a performer.

    In my head, I could see the performance he was going to give, but having a different accent put a different spin on that performance, so I really enjoyed that.

    (more…)

  • Review: Tender, Bush Theatre

    l-r Francesca Amewudah-Rivers and Nadi Kemp-Sayfi in ‘Tender’ at Bush Theatre. Photo by Harry Elletson

    Tender is getting a second outing this time in the Bush Theatre’s larger space and is a play about a chance encounter that develops into something more.

    The encounter is between two women who are living with not wholly comfortable relationships. Ivy (Nadi Kemp-Sayfi) is living with her pushy boyfriend and has an equally pushy brother.

    Ash (Francesca Amewudah-Rivers) has returned from living in Spain, having left her fiancé at the altar only to find that he is stalking her. She has just moved into her own flat.

    They are very different to each other. Ivy is defiant but in small ways, while Ash is cool and confident. Mostly.

    Both are hiding parts of themselves; there is a yearning for something that connects them, but that connection is… complicated.

    The staging is simple, with the back wall of the performance space made of silky material with a door to one side.

    When Ash is at home, the silky material pulsates along with a soundscape, pressing in as if alive. It adds tension and foreboding.

    (more…)

  • Review: Live From the Warehouse, White Bear Theatre

    Live From The Warehouse, White Bear Theatre. Photo: Deepan Singh

    Live From the Warehouse is a multimedia play set, as the title suggests, in a warehouse.

    Tanmay (Aryaman Krishna Aggarwal) and Riyan (Vrishab Wig) are hiding out after a school prank involving a gun goes wrong.

    With the police in pursuit, they contemplate their options and find ways to pass the time, flirting recklessly with the idea of becoming social media famous and having all eyes on them.

    Aryaman Krishna Aggarwal and Vrishab Wig burst onto the stage with synchronised, simulated running, which sets the scene for the energy and tone of this play.

    They are versatile performers. Mock stand-up is used to contemplate their backgrounds and ambitions; there is also a dance sequence and an action-movie-style pretend fight with a drug dealer.

    Youthful exuberance and naivety distort their take on their situation. Views and likes on social media have agency among their peers, and their predicament becomes a means of creating online visibility, which sets them on an ever more precarious path.

    (more…)

  • Video review: Glengarry Glen Ross, Old Vic

    Video transcript: Glengarry Glen Ross at the Old Vic Theatre sees the cast swap genders, so rather than it being an all-male cast, it becomes an all-female cast, and this is an interesting take on it.

    It somehow accentuates the aggressive masculinity of the play. They don’t swap any of the names; they use all the male names. It is literally just a change in actors.

    And I really liked how it just emphasises this, that aggressiveness in a way far greater than productions I’ve seen with an all-male cast.

    Now this is a very fast-paced play. It hits the ground running, and it doesn’t let up.

    There are no quieter moments. It is literally bang, bang, bang, and it can get a bit much in places.

    (more…)

  • Review: Lulla, Omnibus Theatre

    Two young woman sitting close to each other with their heads touching
    Meg Walls (left) and Anna Marks Pryce (right) in Lulla at the Omnibus Theatre. Photo: Lidia Crisafulli

    Lulla, presumably short for lullabies, which weave through this play, centres on 16-year-old Marin (Anna Marks Pryce), a queer 16-year-old who has bunked off school to get to know Dolores (Meg Wallis) more intimately

    The two are having a lovely time when her mum (Madeleine MacMahon) comes home early and catches them in a compromising position.

    Her mum doesn’t take the idea of her daughter being queer well, to put it lightly, and her dad (Robin Berry) doesn’t offer much comfort either.

    We then drop into a dream/nightmare world where Lady Nightshade inhabits.

    Played in rotation by Wallis, Macmahon and Berry, they are bedecked with a crown of twigs and a sparkling pink-and-purple cape, creating a presence that is a strange mix of intimidating and comforting.

    (more…)

  • Review: Relics, Lyric Hammersmith

    A man in a green check shirt and jeans sitting in low chair. A woman sits on the carpet opposite him wearing a white shirt with floral detail. Between them standing in black jeans and black denim jacket is a woman who is pretending to sing into a microphone.
    Relics, Lyric Hammersmith with (l-r) Sam Swainsbury, Charly Clive, and Sally Phillips. Photo: Marc Brenner

    Ben Ockrent’s play Relics reminded me of Nachtland at the Young Vic from a couple of years ago.

    • Siblings reunite to divvy up their dead parents’ belongings. Tick.

    • A painting is found with a suspected dodgy history. Tick.

    • Said painting divides the siblings, causing arguments. Tick.

    Relics has a different comic tone, though. Where Nachtland had dark humour, this is lighter, it has witty repartee with some amusing physical comedy thrown in.

    The four siblings meet at the family home to decide who will take what of their late mother’s possessions.

    Olivia (Sally Phillips) is the responsible and organised one. She gave up her job to care for their mother and is concerned about the tree in the garden around which their Granddad’s ashes were scattered.

    Michelle (Charly Clive) is a teacher and the aloof, grumpy one.

    (more…)