Month: December 2023

Latest, Reviews

“Your Christmas Carol Experience: A New Immersive Adventure”: Review

Your Christmas Carol Experience: A New Immersive Adventure is a brief and intimate encounter shared among 10 audience members, as they go from room to room and meet various spirits that have taken on corporeal forms. There is no Scrooge, as audience members are meant to be the protagonists of this experience. However, after meeting the Time Keeper (Romer), the audience hears a man speaking … Continue reading “Your Christmas Carol Experience: A New Immersive Adventure”: Review

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“The Motive and the Cue” Review: Sublime & Immaculate from Start to Finish

Director Zoé Ford Burnett takes Sam Mendes’ National Theatre production of The Motive and the Cue to the West End. This new play is written by Jack Thorne, whose obsession with the idea of authorship leads him to explore one of the most volatile clashes in theatre history––Richard Burton and Sir John Gielgud collaborating on the Broadway production of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Set in 1964, … Continue reading “The Motive and the Cue” Review: Sublime & Immaculate from Start to Finish

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“You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown” Review: Merriment, Misadventure and Mischief

The walls of the black box studio have cartoon trees and clouds pasted on them, drawn in the style of Charles M. Schulz, creator of the beloved comic strip Peanuts. The same goes for a giant cutout of a yellow school bus separating the band from the stage, and Snoopy’s signature red kennel. Thanks to set designer Ruby Boswell-Green, it is hard not to smile … Continue reading “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown” Review: Merriment, Misadventure and Mischief

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Latest, Quick Takes

Quick Take! (For the Love of Spam)

In this solo piece, Sierra Sevilla charts her life changes, and the sociopolitical developments of her hometown Guam, against the constant and comforting presence of Spam, her favourite food and guilty pleasure.  For the Love of Spam offers a rare yet genuine look into this oft-forgotten part of the world, and the vastness it carries. Sevilla is personable, cheeky and buoyant as she injects sarcasm … Continue reading Quick Take! (For the Love of Spam)

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Interviews & Features, Latest

Interview: Rachel Walker Mason

Rachel Walker Mason is a musician, performer, GRAMMY voting member and writer. She has been on judging panels for Sky TV’s Sing: Ultimate A Cappella, The UK Songwriting Contest, Intercontinental Music Awards, The British Short Film Awards, and many others.  It is no wonder Rachel has a ton of accolades under her belt. Apart from being named “a songwriting expert” by BBC Radio Four’s Today … Continue reading Interview: Rachel Walker Mason

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Interviews & Features, Latest

Interview: Angela J. Davis

Angela J. Davis is the playwright of Agathe, which tells the true story of a chemistry professor and advocate for women and girls’ education, Agathe Uwilingiyimana. This extraordinary woman also became Rwanda’s head of state for fourteen hours. Created through extensive research including first-hand accounts from witnesses and survivors of the genocide, Angela J. Davis’ new play brings Agathe’s silenced story to light as a beacon for our … Continue reading Interview: Angela J. Davis

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Latest, Reviews

“The Time Machine – A Comedy” Review: Full of Heart, Humour & Cher

Dave Wells (Dave Hearn), the descendant of H. G. Wells himself, runs onstage, and in his opening speech, announces, “I’m sure you all came here expecting to be entertained. You need to let that thought go.” Surprise, Wells is a massive liar. Writers Steven Canny and John Nicholson are absolute masters in taking the piss out of something Christopher Nolan would spend a multimillion-dollar budget … Continue reading “The Time Machine – A Comedy” Review: Full of Heart, Humour & Cher

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“The Homecoming” Review: Smoke, Jazz and Misogyny

The best way to access director Matthew Dunster’s version of The Homecoming by Harold Pinter, is to take nothing literally, even if it tempts you to do so. Moi Tran’s set design places this comedy of menace in a large sitting room, with a rather grand staircase leading up to a hidden corridor of bedrooms. Jazz music coming from a gramophone floods the theatre a … Continue reading “The Homecoming” Review: Smoke, Jazz and Misogyny

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Latest, Reviews

“Pacific Overtures” Review: Cultural Clash, Accommodation and Cross-Pollination

In the programme booklet, book writer John Weidman recognises that when he and Stephen Sondheim first collaborated on Pacific Overtures in 1976, they did it from “a point of view which was as far removed” from the show’s characters and culture that “two uppers middle class white men living in New York” could possibly imagine. Despite that self-awareness, Weidman immediately counters this disparity of lived … Continue reading “Pacific Overtures” Review: Cultural Clash, Accommodation and Cross-Pollination

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Latest, Quick Takes

Quick Take! (Potted Panto)

Daniel Clarkson and Jefferson Turner have gained a loyal following since 2005, with their slew of potted adventures. Anyone who is feeling festive but doesn’t want to sit through an entire panto might enjoy this production, as the duo blaze through 7 classic pantos in 80 minutes, culminating in a cheeky mash-up of Aladdin and A Christmas Carol (not a panto). The best parts of … Continue reading Quick Take! (Potted Panto)

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