"The Poltergeist," Arcola Theatre
Last night, at the Arcola, I witnessed the return of The Poltergeist, Philip Ridley's blazing one-man show from 2020. It is a terrific piece of writing, a text which is a masterpiece of stor…
Last night, at the Arcola, I witnessed the return of The Poltergeist, Philip Ridley's blazing one-man show from 2020. It is a terrific piece of writing, a text which is a masterpiece of stor…
Martin Crimp's Not One of These People at the Royal Court: radical investigation of presence and absence in fiction
Sudha Bhuchar's Evening Conversations at the Soho Theatre: a calmly intelligent exploration of family identity
Nica Burns' choice of an opening production for @sohoplace is Marvellous, a celebratory bio-drama about Newcastle-under-Lyme's local legend, the irrepressible Neil "Nello" Baldwin, whose ama…
Therapy is inherently dramatic. After all, it's all about character " and it has the aim of producing a recognizable change. But who is most affected by the process: client or therapist? Geo…
Therapy is inherently dramatic. After all, it's all about character " and it has the aim of producing a recognisable change. But who is most affected by the process: client or therapist? Geo…
If you accept the documentary verbatim style of Jews. In Their Own Words at the Royal Court, and don't mind the lack of any real drama, this is an intelligently crafted and committed piece o…
Identity is the sum of the stories we tell ourselves. Some of these are personal, and some political. Sometimes they blend, sometimes clash. In Aaron Kilercioglu and Bilal Hasna's excellentl…
Identity is the sum of the stories we tell ourselves. Some of these are personal, and some political. Sometimes they blend, sometimes clash. In Aaron Kilercioglu and Bilal Hasna's excellentl…
Britain is a divided nation, but one of the divisions that we don't hear that much about is that between Pakistani gay men. Written by Waleed Akhtar (who also stars in this impressively hear…
In Silence at the Donmar Warehouse four British playwrights have adapted Kavita Puri's book Partition Voices: Untold British Stories in a joint production between Donmar Warehouse and Tara T…
In developing The Trials, the Donmar worked with more than 1,300 young people plus a further 200 in workshops at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and National Youth Theatre. Director…
While Britain is experiencing a "summer of discontent", with inflation, strikes and other conflicts, it is odd that so few plays are as overtly political, and as overtly resonant as Sonali B…
If the plotting is predictable, and the story arc unremarkable, the image of life represented is both strongly compassionate and often very pleasurable. In true welfare state style, comedian…
Yesterday evening I went to see Dog/Actor at the Etcetera Theatre in Camden. Written by Steven Berkoff, in his instantly recognizable snarling voice, these two short monologues are bri…
With its energetic arguments, moments of great charm, gritty humour, and mix of filth and idealism, Sonali Bhattacharyya's Chasing Hares at the Young Vic is both relevant and contemporary.
IÂ live in Brixton, south London. A few days ago, the borough's aptly named Windrush Square hosted events which celebrated the contribution of the Windrush Generation and their descendants…
Is gig theater the latest sugar rush? Okay, it ups the brain's serotonin levels and charges around your body like a crazy electric current, but amid the joyous nerve reactions does the music…
With Windrush Day being 22 June, last week was originally going to be the opening night of Roy Williams' new Hampstead Theatre play, The Fellowship, until plans had to be changed because Luc…
Bangers at the Soho Theatre has a fine buzz of the contemporary and a real sympathy for sexual confusion and other experiences such as the loss of a parent.
Theatre is slowly recovering from the effects of the pandemic, and many shows which were canceled because of the first lockdown are now finally getting a staging. The latest is Satinder Choh…
if you buy a ticket you will not see That Is Not Who I Am by Dave Davidson (who doesn't exist), but instead you will experience Rapture by Lucy Kirkwood, who is an established playwright. It…
In the past, most plays by black-British writers have been about the legacy of the Windrush generation, or occasionally about migrants from west Africa, and their main theme has been exposin…
Beru Tessema's drama House of Ife, about an Ethiopian-British family facing a tragic loss, is deeply felt and emotional and marks a good start to this venue's 50th anniversary season.
Satinder Chohan's Lotus Beauty at the Hampstead Theatre, a loving portrait of a Punjabi family-run beauty parlour in west London's Southall, is an uneasy mix of comedy and tragedy.