BY FRANCIS BECKETT A splendidly funny but flawed farce with a moral philosopher at its heart. While this funny, bouncy production is excellent fun to watch, it’s hard not to think that writer Fauzia Rahman could have mined this philosophical seam a little deeper. At the Tristan Bates Theatre. READ THE COMPLETE REVIEW ON ONE … Continue reading
Tag Archives: Tristan Bates theatre
Meaty topics: Lean at the Tristan Bates Theatre (****)
Isley Lynn’s new play tackles anorexia and the loss of a child with bold frankness in a solid production by Strip Theatre. The pace tends to lag, but strong performances help the piece pack a powerful emotional punch that leaves you reeling. At the Tristan Bates Theatre. It seems most young writers these days are … Continue reading
Final Score (***)
An argument between adult couples hinges on their children in Lisa Fulthorpe’s tragi-comedy, and the result starts well, but quickly descends into hysterical melodrama. Decent performances and clean direction mean that the production works, but it could do with a more settled plot. At the Camden Fringe. Celebrating the shared 16th birthday party of their … Continue reading
Is Anything Broken? (**)
Dan Davies’ radio play adapts poorly to the stage, with lacklustre direction and performances, although the writing betrays the spark of a talented dialogue writer. But a rather predictable story and a mundane situation let the writing down, which, combined with the poor production, leads to a rather disappointing overall result. At the Camden Fringe. … Continue reading
A Lady of Substance (****)
Sheer Drop bring two new plays by young, exciting writers to the Tristan Bates Theatre, and they are both hugely impressive: A Lady of Substance, by Jon Cooper, presents a believably natural relationship between two women with subtle intricacy, showing two very different paths for handling bereavement and the passions of an artist. At the Tristan … Continue reading
The Death of Norman Tortilla (****)
Sheer Drop bring two new plays by young, exciting writers to the Tristan Bates Theatre, and they are both hugely impressive: The Death of Norman Tortilla, by Charlotte Coates, is a searing inditement of our celebrity-obsessed culture and a frightening insight into ageing – clever and powerful. At the Tristan Bates Theatre. Norman Tortilla’s life has … Continue reading
Woman Bomb (***)
READ THE ORIGINAL REVIEW ON FRINGEREVIEW! LOW DOWN Suicide bombing is always going to be a contentious subject to bring to the stage, and this new play by Croatian writer (and general TV and arts personality) Ivana Sajko veers difficultly between explaining and mystifying the issue – something that, in this particular case, may be … Continue reading
Bane and Bane 2 (*****)
READ THE ORIGINAL ON FRINGEREVIEW! LOW DOWN Bruce Bane is back, this time for a double bill of his impressive one-man shows Bane and Bane 2 in attempt to break the world record for ‘Most Characters Performed in a One Man Show’. While we have reviewed Joe Bone’s one-man performances before, I used the opportunity … Continue reading
Keep new writing homeless!
A lot of guff is spoken in relation to new writing on the London theatre scene: certain theatres claim exclusive control over it, some even going as far as to describe themselves as the ‘home’ of new writing, while it has become the ultimate buzz-phrase to plaster all of your theatre website, in the hopes … Continue reading
Grubby Strugglers 