Month: August 2024

Attention Span, Hen & Chickens Theatre

by Diana Miranda

It’s often said that storytelling sets humans apart from the rest of the animal kingdom. What no one says is that telling stories is no rudimentary act, but a labyrinth of tangents, digressions, and U-turns. Enter Brave Mirror Productions and Attention Span, “a series of short sketches for people with short attention spans,” as its creators put it. This high-energy satire turns the mind inside out to dive into its rabbit holes, unravelling the tangled web within the human brain.

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My Plan for Tomorrow, Golden Goose Theatre

Photo by Rachel Burnham

By Luisa De la Concha Montes

My Plan for Tomorrow follows Piers (Alfie-Lanham Brown), a frustrated character who wanted to be a writer, but didn’t get into Oxford, so now he splits his time between delivering job-hunting masterclasses, attending comic-con conventions and telling people how great his (unfinished) novel is. When he runs into an old acquaintance from university, Tomas (Chris Capon), Piers becomes obsessed, as Tomas represents everything Piers wishes he could have been: a successful comic illustrator with a big following. 

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Flat 4, The Libra Theatre Cafe

by Diana Miranda

Who needs another romance song? The question is potentially dangerous, considering that Swifties are pouring out from every crevice in London towards Wembley Stadium this weekend. But after a successful run at Brighton Fringe, Isabel Songer has no fear of bringing up the matter in her solo piece, Flat 4. Following a young woman stepping into the world of independence, this drama offers a peek into the joy and complexities we may find not in a partner, but in friendship.

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Stomach, Camden People’s Theatre

by Diana Miranda

It’s often said that the stomach is the body’s second brain. Supposedly, that pulling energy inside our gut – the thing we call intuition – is no woo-woo concept. This is certainly true in Ariana Xeno’s debut show, Stomach, which unravels the intertwined narratives of three women navigating environments that threaten their mental and physical health.

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Maar, Dora; Courtyard Theatre

By Diana Miranda

After two sold-out runs at the Old Red Lion Theatre earlier this year, Nadia Jackson’s Maar, Dora continues to shine a light on the legacy of experimental photographer Dora Maar. Often portrayed by contemporary media and history books as Picasso’s muse, collaborator and mistress, Dora now steps out from the painter’s shadow to address the elephant in the room: Can her story truly be told without Picasso, or would erasing the cubist titan mean further displacing herself from a discipline focused on the male gaze? 

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Sex Chat Granny, Etcetera Theatre

By Diana Miranda

Leave all your Granny stereotypes at the door. Harriet Waterhouse’s debut dramedy Sex Chat Granny offers a unique perspective on a woman working on sex chat phone lines as she navigates the challenges of middle age and unpaid bills. The play provides glimpses into her life – stories filled with longing and stagnant dreams – interspersed with calls to her mother, who has dementia, and men seeking companionship. 

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Frankie Goes to Bollywood, Southbank Centre

by Zahid Fayyaz

Fresh from a regional tour of the UK and a run in Watford, Rifco Theatre Company brings their latest musical spectacular for a run at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, on the Southbank. This is the story of Frankie, who is ‘discovered’ by a Bollywood director working at a UK cinema, and is then whisked away to star in a Bollywood film. However, it turns out that being a Bollywood film star isn’t all that it’s all cracked up to be. Things start to fall apart, in an ironically Bollywood melodrama style.

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LIFE: the beginning, the end, and everything in between, Lion and Unicorn Theatre

by Diana Miranda

Forrest Gump’s mama said it best: “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get.” Featuring ten short pieces that delve into the tapestry of human experiences, LIFE: The Beginning, the End, and Everything in Between reflects precisely that variety. Produced by Northern Spirit, this eclectic evening of new writing at The Lion and Unicorn Theatre has the creative energy of a poetry slam and a scratch night put together.

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