by guest critic Lara Alier
2018, the year of the woman – in some parts of the world. I could probably count them on one hand.
feminism
Things that do not c(o)unt, VAULT Festival
by an anonymous guest critic
Nastazja Somers’ remarkable and brave one woman show delivers inspiration by the mouthful.
It’s not very often you get to watch someone eat a whole grapefruit on stage, but Somers does just that. As you watch her slowly devouring the fruit, it’s hard to break your gaze as she courageously stands in a defiant red dress that screams Siren.
Foreign Body, VAULT Festival
by guest critic Alex Dowding
Sexual assault: It’s sadly been around since the dawn of time, and despite being in focus more than ever now since the #MeToo movement took off on social media, it may not ever go away. Here Imogen Butler-Cole alongside the charity He For She aims to de-stigmatise the dialogue surrounding it with a movement-heavy solo piece.
Treading Water, VAULT Festival
by Meredith Jones Russell
Carol and Sue are lifeguards sat out on an appropriately chilly-looking British beach. They make conversation, eat biscuits, and wait for something, anything, to happen. Meanwhile a dog walker scans the sand with his metal detector, pausing occasionally to ponder such issues as the nature of buried things, or which sea creature would have the nicest garden (spoiler alert: Ringo Starr-like, he reckons it’s the octopus). Will these three come together, and how? And what, if any, will the consequences be?
Ad Libido, VAULT Festival
by guest critic Amy Toledano
Part cabaret, part one woman show, part stand up, Ad Libido is the hilarious story of Fran Bushe and her journey to fixing sex. Completely honest, this show breaks the taboo around female sexuality and the way in which more often than not, it is swept under the rug and deemed unimportant.
Conquest, VAULT Festival
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.
The House of Bernada Alba, Cervantes Theatre
by guest reviewer Lara Alier
It has always surprised me how popular Lorca is in the UK.
Last night I went to the Cervantes Theatre, where plays are performed both in English and in Spanish. The first thing that catches my eye was the minimalist set design; the wall shows a weaved white pattern and the red floor mimicked big floor tiles.
Girls & Boys, Royal Court
by Laura Kressly
A woman stands on a pastel blue stage and starts at the beginning. She tells us a love story – how she met a man in an airport, fell in love and built a life with him. Great jobs, a family, a house, the full works. It’s perfect. Until it’s not.
I Have a Mouth and I Will Scream, VAULT Festival
by guest critic Ava Davies
The raging influence of Alice Birch’s revolt. she said. revolt again. runs through this performance art/theatre piece by Abi Zakarian. The six-strong ensemble of women (not all white, which is good, but it could always be less white) are trying to discuss feminism. Is that even the right word anymore? It’s become bogged down in pop culture references, in mass-produced t-shirts, in discussions about depicting vaginas in art. I HAVE A MOUTH… occasionally feels like it drifts into white feminist territory, as much as it tries to unpick and dissect that movement.
The B*easts, Bush Theatre
by guest critic Joanna Trainor
Do you have to be responsible for your breasts?
A question you probably never thought you’d have to think about, but The B*easts pushes us to consider the very worst of society as Monica Dolan explores the sexualisation of female children.
The Play's The Thing UK 