I directed a short play for Theatre503′s Rapid Write Response event for inhouse production Land of Our Fathers – Butter Side Down, by James Huntrods. Rapid Write Response is a new writing night at Theatre503, where pieces are written in response to the current inhouse production, then cast and directed in just 2 weeks. James’ script was … Continue reading
Ernie Holt was just a normal man, and yet this show is the story of his life, told through bouncy, spritely physical theatre by his grandson, James Craze. The warm, affectionate retelling and excellent theatrical technique make for a delightful evening, and it’s hard not to get emotionally involved with the simple charm of James … Continue reading
I directed a short play for Theatre503’s Rapid Write Response event for inhouse production Desolate Heaven. The piece was called Top Bunk, written by Brian Mullin. Rapid Write Response is a new writing night at Theatre503, where pieces are written in response to the current inhouse production, then cast and directed in just 2 weeks. … Continue reading
After a year of focusing on OneStopArts.com and angst about not directing, I’m pleased to announce 2 new exciting directing projects! On 25 February, I will be taking part in Theatre503’s Rapid Write Response to current show Desolate Heaven – which I also reviewed here. Rapid Write Response is a very cool concept: writers are … Continue reading
Ailís Ní Ríain’s coming-of-age story combines fairy-tale fantasy and gritty realism in Theatre503’s first play of their new season of “groundbreaking plays”. This is a perfect embodiment of Theatre503’s commitment to bold new writing: difficult and striking, it’s not an easy morsel to digest, but the innovation and quality of the work are undeniable. In … Continue reading
Elegy is the story of a gay man in Iraq – never a stable situation to be in, but when homophobic tensions rise after the American invasion in 2003, he finds himself in deadly danger. This is an important and powerful play to see, lest we forget personal tragedy in the face of politics. At Theatre503. … Continue reading
Five pieces of new writing respond to anonymous secrets dropped into the theatre’s suggestion box. The results are mixed, as is often the case with evenings of short new writing, but Shhhh… offers a chance to see some feisty new talent. At Theatre503. Theatre503 continues to assert its reputation at offering “fearless new writing” with its latest project … Continue reading
In Who’s Dorian Gray, Empty Photo Theatre look to show audiences “snapshots of life that they can recognise and relate to”, and aim for “psychological realism”, which is a term borrowed from the world of novels for a piece that places more emphasis on the characters’ internal monologues – sadly, it doesn’t achieve either of these … Continue reading
Playades’ devised play about the ill-fated relationship between Nietzsche and Lou Salome is interesting, cleverly staged and well performed – but it’s missing that emotional spark and connected story-line that would make it something truly special. The beginnings of a great play – but some work still required. At Theatre503. Loosely chronological, The Most Dangerous … Continue reading
New writer Jimmy Osbourne’s Meat certainly has plenty of guts, but the writing is not as clean and crisp as it could be. This premiere also could do with some refinement – some acting missteps mar an otherwise slick production – but this is still an encouraging outing for FallOut Theatre. At Theatre503. In Meat, Vincent and … Continue reading
If there’s a bandwagon to be jumped on… There’ve recently been a number of influential critics and bloggers listing their top 10 theatre venues (including Mark Shenton, Michael Coveney and RevStan), and the Londonist have also made a list of their top 10 fringe venues, so I thought I’d add my own fuel to the … Continue reading
Teatro Entre Escombos have brought their tragicomedy The Mole and the Worm to London, and it couldn’t impress more with its quirky humour and poetic language. Not many could pull off physical clowning in a play rife with sex and death, but this multicultural collective have found a wonderful interplay between its two leads that makes this … Continue reading
And after that moaning, groaning, self-depricating blog post about having no work… Let’s just say the tables have turned. Yes, it’s been a good week for unpaid (or profit-share) theatre work – although enough said about money already! So, it’s another shout-out blog post about my upcoming projects! Opening next week is a production of … Continue reading
READ THE ORIGINAL REVIEW ON FRINGEREVIEW! LOW DOWN It’s apparently always on men’s minds, and now we can add Talking in Bed to the long list of plays about sex – specifically, plays about sex set in a bed, with various couples filling said bed with their pillow talk. Talking in Bed doesn’t add much … Continue reading
It’s been quiet here for a while… Sorry for the article delay chaps and chapettes – I draw your attention to the article series I wrote about my latest project, More Light by Snoo Wilson (that links to my personal blog, click here to go to the page on FringeReview), and after that, I needed … Continue reading
Grubby Strugglers 