Alien Land, VAULT Festival

https://i0.wp.com/london.carpediem.cd/data/afisha/o/43/9b/439beb7829.jpg

by Laura Kressly

Saeed is a Bedouin Palestinian refugee, currently in prison. With no one to speak to, his imagination conjures all sorts of beings and memories. He tells the walls his family history and remembers an old man, a donkey, and and a faceless alien. But this disjointed piece takes too long to come together, and the chosen style confuses and disorientates rather than fully rallies the audience to his side.

Continue reading

The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk, Wilton’s Music Hall

https://i0.wp.com/www.theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/mast_image_landscape/public/mastimages/TAN29052-X2.jpg

by Laura Kressly

On the phone with his agent, an old man’s mind wanders to his youth. The shadows of WWI stretched across Europe and Russia, but it’s in these dark times that the now-aged painter met a beautiful writer. Falling in love with her was like flying.

Continue reading

Red Bastard: Lie with Me, VAULT Festival

https://assets.londonist.com/uploads/2015/02/i875/a4682785-red_bastard-pinup-original.jpg

by guest critic Lauren Gauge

Swan, dirty pony, or pervert? What kind of lover are you?

Through scintillating physical comedy and personal probing questions uniting, dividing and cross-examining the audience, the truth and the lies are uncovered one by one, social construct by social construct. Who made the rules of love, and why if none of us know who made them, do we follow them*?

*Most of the time.

Continue reading

The War Has Not Yet Started, Southwark Playhouse

https://i0.wp.com/7210-presscdn-0-59.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/the-war-has-not-yet-started-southwark-playhouse-1.jpg

by Laura Kressly

We may not be living in a war zone, but everyday life is a series of battles to be won or lost. These tiny fights may be life or death in the moment, but can feel silly, meaningless or absurd from an outsider’s perspective. This isn’t lost on Mikhail Durnenkov, who presents a sample of vignettes addressing problematic aspects of modern life, from mobile phone overuse to airport security.

Continue reading

The Claim, Shoreditch Town Hall

https://i0.wp.com/exeuntmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/The-Claim-UK-Tour-Yusra-Warsama-Ncuti-Gatwa-and-Nick-Blakeley-courtesy-of-Paul-Samuel-White-600x400.jpg

by Laura Kressly

The sickly, yellow lights of a featureless meeting room are making Serge thirsty. He just wants some water, to tell his story and get back home to Streatham. An unnamed woman and man try and fail to listen to him, but they’re more concerned with whether his story is the kind that would enable their Western, colonial notion of helping.

Continue reading