by guest critic Joanna Trainor
“I wanted to be gentle when I blew his mind.”
Christopher Brett Bailey could read the Argos catalogue and have an audience hang on his every word. But his talent for storytelling is matched by his weird and wonderful writing, and so we get to take another trip down the rabbit hole of his inspired or insane work.
by guest critic Amy Toledano
A fox runs into the road and forces the driver coming towards it to swerve and almost crash. Is it the fox’s fault if the person dies, or does it matter if the driver runs the fox over to save themselves? Which life is worth more? And if you grow up in South London should you be punished for carrying a knife to protect yourself? Or if you stab someone as self-defense is it still a crime? This complex and delicate issue is handled beautifully in David Alade’s Fox Hunting.
by Laura Kressly
Will is having a rough time so isn’t inclined to leave his Playstation. His worried mate Jay convinces him to join the gym with him, in the hope that it pulls him out of his funk. Unknowingly, Jay creates a monster. The gym gives Will not just new-found purpose, but triggers an addiction that totally transforms him from quiet and shy into a vain, self-absorbed and destructive force.
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by Laura Kressly
A riotous party is heard offstage and the cheerfully vintage, open-plan kitchen we see is full of food and drink. But this London home isn’t hosting any old house party. It’s a customary Jamaican wake following Gloria’s death, and three generations of her family have gathered to mourn. As they wrestle with grief, tradition clashes with modern Britain in Natasha Gordon’s kitchen sink drama that bounces from hilarity to gravity and back again.
by guest critic Amy Toledano
Why is the sky blue? What is there to do in Argentina? Why is the sea green? How regularly are young people in the UK and around the world watching pornography? And – more importantly – what affect is it having on their sexual and mental development? These are just some of the questions raised in Abbey Wright’s brand new Why is the Sky Blue?
by guest critic Meredith Jones Russell
All is not as tranquil as it seems on a quiet shallow of the Gulf of Mexico – Kendra and Betty sit on a boat one afternoon ostensibly to fish, but in reality to thrash out their relationship. As night sets in, they begin to wonder whether they can ever escape where they have ended up.
by guest critic Joanna Trainor
Rumi (Kuran Dohil) is a Muslim atheist, having to hide huge chunks of her life from her family. Including her new, white, non-Muslim boyfriend, Simon. What could possibly go wrong?
Coconut is one of those plays where each person who watches it will take away or resonate with something different, for me it was the role religion plays in our lives.
by guest writer Steven Strauss
New York’s Lincoln Center invited UK-based Oily Cart to be one of three theatres from outside the US to perform at the Big Umbrella Festival, the first of its kind dedicated to such audiences.
In addition to Oily Cart’s Light Show, the one-month festival includes other one-off events, symposiums, and professional development opportunities for artists, arts professionals, presenters, and audience members interested in expanding the theatrical spotlight on this shamefully under-served community.
Simply put, major theatres around the world should really be funding such festivals all the time. To find out more about the process of bringing the Big Umbrella Festival to life, we interviewed Peg Schuler-Armstrong, the Director of Programming and Production for Lincoln Center Education, the organizers of the festival.
by guest critic Meredith Jones Russell
How to Be a Londoner in an Hour is part of a “politically charged” season at new venue Centre17 in Walthamstow. “Politically charged” wouldn’t be the most obvious way to describe How to Be…, unless you count repeated references to Boris Johnson, who hasn’t actually been London mayor for two years.
by Laura Kressly
I reckon you can find any kind of furniture you’d like flatpacked. You can even buy flatpack houses. But would you purchase a build-your-own family member that’s totally programme to fit your idea of a perfect person?
The Play's The Thing UK 