by guest critic Meredith Jones Russell
Conquest plays with narratives and points of view to deliver a hilarious if sometimes predictable exploration of feminism and consent.
Month: February 2018
Angry, Southwark Playhouse
by guest critic Joanna Trainor
“Remember me; I sparkled.”
Philip Ridley’s ability to write about the most grotesque scenarios with the most beautiful language will never cease to amaze. The director tweeted to say he was glad I enjoyed the show, but “enjoy” never feels like the right word for Ridley. Uncomfortable, anxious, grossed out but oddly moved by the whole thing seems far more appropriate. And let’s face it, we wouldn’t want our in yer face theatre any other way.
Party Skills for the End of the World, Shoreditch Town Hall
by Laura Kressly
A make-your-own martini and a raffle for a gorilla novelty teapot is a great way to start a show. A massive game of musical chairs is a great way to continue it. And a fair of DIY, crafts and skills workshops is a blinding way to end it.
Napoleon Disrobed, Arcola Theatre
by Laura Kressly
What would happen if Napoleon didn’t die on Saint Helena? What if he managed to not be imprisoned at all? This amusing Monty Python-esque, revisionist history suggests that with his doppelganger in exile, Napoleon tries to regain power in Belgium but is thwarted by supporter disbelief, poverty and the love of a melon seller. The comedy is punchy but the story is sparse, making for a joyful but baffling show.
Breakfast, VAULT Festival
by guest critic Lara Alier
Visual poetry, movement and live music. Words that float and linger in the air like these two performers in the space.
Marah Stafford and Nicolas Hart perform a physical theatre piece devised from the poems of Jacques Prévert. The whole show is accompanied by Ben Murray on the accordion and piano.
Tiger, VAULT Festival
by guest critic Lucy Bailie
Grief is unfortunately inevitable for us all, but what we don’t know is how it will affect us. We could sink to the bottom of a black hole and see no way out, or we could decide to live as a seven-foot tiger for the rest of our lives.
Margaret Thatcher Queen of Soho, VAULT Festival
by guest critic Gregory Forrest
The night before Parliament votes on Section 28, an amendment to the Local Government Act which prevents schools or similar local authorities from promoting homosexuality, Magaret Thatcher finds herself in a Soho nightclub. This is the fabulous premise to the now iconic drag cabaret: Margaret Thatcher, Queen of Soho.
Consumables, VAULT Festival
by guest critic Gregory Forrest
A young drug-addicted porn star is looking for someone to kill and eat him. A clean-freak older man is looking for a good, tasty fantasy. So what happens to the carving knife? It’s a strong set up, and when cannibalistic fetishism is first introduced to Consumables – effectively delayed in Matthew Kyne Baskott’s’s script – the topic undoubtedly sticks in your throat.
Elsa, VAULT Festival
by an anonymous guest critic
Isobel Rogers delivers a spectacular one-woman performance, collating humorous millennial moments and sharing them in a unique musical format. As the show opens Rogers takes on the persona of ‘Elsa’, a bored, overqualified waitress who is dreaming of a life beyond her bill-paying day job, where she can actually do the career which she has a degree in. This is certainly a scenario most of the creative audience can relate to.
A Serious Play about WWII, VAULT Festival
by guest critic Tom Brocklehurst
Sometimes you catch a show on it’s way to greatness, which is one of the joys of seeing shows at an early stage. However, if they’re not advertised as work-in-progress, the audience can leave feeling shortchanged and disappointed.
The Play's The Thing UK 