biography

Seven Drunken Nights: The Story of the Dubliners, Dominion Theatre

by Zahid Fayyaz

Taking over from The Devil Wears Prada at the Dominion Theatre is this special, one-off show in London about The Dubliners, one of Ireland’s biggest and most well-known bands. The story unfolds on a stage done up like the renowned Dublin bar O’Donoghue’s, where the band began their journey in 1962 and contributed to the revival of traditional Irish music. A five-piece band shared the history of the music group, from their early beginnings to almost 50 years later on The Late Late Show in 2008.

Continue reading →

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? 

Continue reading →

Recognition, Fairfield Halls

by Laura Kressly

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor is one of this country’s great classical composers and conductors. His cantata trilogy The Song of Hiawatha is considered the best adaptation of Longfellow’s epic poem, and he had a celebrated career in the UK and abroad. Despite this, he died in 1912 at the age of 37, exhausted and in poverty. This was the end result of a lifetime spent resisting white supremacy that oppressed him for his Blackness.

Continue reading →

Emily Wilson: Fixed, Soho Theatre

by Zahid Fayyaz

After previous runs at the Soho Theatre in the upstairs space and at Edinburgh Fringe, this American comedian returns to the to the bigger cabaret space for her most recent, hour-long set. This is the story of Emily Wilson’s starring role in the first X-Factor USA, first as part of a duo and then later in an ill-advised, 10 kid group.

Continue reading →

Don’t Leave Me This Way, VAULT Festival

by Laura Kressly

Ildiko is half German and half Hungarian. Rosie is half English and half Irish. The two women explore what this might mean, along with how culture, ancestry and migration, make us who we are. Their journey takes the form of an elegant cabaret similar to vintage variety TV shows. Traditional music and folk songs intersperse poignant extracts of personal narrative to make this moving patchwork of stories and anecdotes that make them who they are.

Continue reading →

Kickass Divas, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

by Romy Foster

This new musical showcases the lives of five fabulous, historical women through the framework of two young people experiencing an interactive museum. The show is filled with catchy, original numbers and engaging choreography with prominent musical motifs that thread through the performance.

Continue reading →

Boy, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

by Laura Kressly

In 1965, a Canadian couple give birth to identical twin boys, Brian and Bruce. When Bruce’s circumcision is botched and he is left without a penis, a doctor convinces his parents that the best way forward is to raise him as a girl. He thinks that with hormones and clear gender roles, Bruce – now Brenda – will be able to lead a normal life. The desperate parents eventually agree. This true story, dramatised by two adult performers and a zoo of soft toys, emphasises how enforcing strictly-defined gender binaries and stereotypes can have far-reaching, tragic consequences.

Continue reading →

Learning to Fly, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

by Laura Kressly

James Rowland’s Songs of Friendship trilogy focuses on the equally hilarious and moving antics he got up to with his best mates Tom, Sarah and Sarah’s partner Emma over the years. These include stealing a friend’s remains and giving him a Viking funeral, and donating sperm to Sarah and Emma. This show is situated outside of that group of friends. Instead, it focuses on another mate who is far less conventional. Though Rowland’s work here is not as neat or as focused as his previous shows, his seemingly truthful delivery and comic timing are as engaging as ever.

Continue reading →

Jean Paul Gaultier: Fashion Freak Show, Camden Roundhouse

by Zahid Fayyaz

Originally staged in London in 2019 at the Southbank Centre, this part-revue, part-fashion show has been rebooted and now has a long residency at Camden’s iconic Roundhouse venue for around 50 dates. The concept consists of a narrative of the life and times of fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier, put together to include a multitude of his fashion designs and a large cast of dancers.

Continue reading →

Eating Myself, King’s Head Theatre

by Diana Miranda

Unfussy and rich – that’s what Eating Myself is, in a good way. Although, one of the key takeaways from this one-woman show is that no rich Peruvian dish goes without a fuss. Eating Myself is an endearing monologue by Pepa Duarte about food that navigates the intersections between body stereotypes, family, traditions and cuisine.

Continue reading →