by guest critic Rebecca JS Nice
Transforming Underbelly’s Spiegeltent into a dark, playful nightclub, Circa’s European premiere of Peepshow is a mesmerising hour of movement, theatre and circus.
music
Knights of the Rose, Arts Theatre
by guest critic Amy Toledano
Jennifer Marsden’s Knights of the Rose is new musical with a score that belts out so many familiar power ballads that it’s often hard to keep track of the actual storyline. With a cast that handle these numbers effortlessly and a book that often felt like it been written for the sole purpose of allowing the actors to show off their vocal skills, Knights of the Rose entertains but not for the reasons intended.
Power Ballad, Battersea Arts Centre
By guest critic Amy Toledano
Writing a review for this abstract piece of feminist theatre feels almost unnatural, as Julia Croft’s Power Ballad is one that is completely subjective. And while the piece is not exactly to my own person taste, it is plain to see that this is almost the point. It’s certainly understandable how Croft has taken the Fringe world by storm.
One For Sorrow, Royal Court
By guest critic Gregory Forrest
I swear to God the Theatre Upstairs is gonna give me an aneurism. An explosion. Pitch black. Shouts and screams and gunfire. The immediate sense of panic is all consuming, and I don’t blame one lady for having to bow out of Cordelia Lynn’s startling new play One For Sorrow.
Legally Blonde, New Wimbledon Theatre
by guest critic Amy Toledano
The story of Elle Woods is one that many people are familiar with, and from the way the New Wimbledon Theatre was buzzing with excitement for it’s press night, it remains clear how many hold Legally Blonde close to their hearts. We have seen numerous productions of this show since it opened on Broadway in 2007, many of which have tried their best to be differentiate from the original. This version is no different.
The End of History, St Giles in the Field
Paul (Chris Polick) is a London property developer. He’s a smooth talker and wears impeccably cut, expensive looking suits. He goes to exclusive chillouts where he takes pills and fucks men he doesn’t know. He’s waiting for the clinic to phone.
Wendy’s (Sarah Malin) an art therapist for a few different charities. She’s a liberal activist, and works with homeless people when budgets allow. She and her boyfriend Dave have just split up so moved out and has no where to go. With luggage in tow and work in the morning, she’s reached the end of the line.
San Domino, Tristan Bates Theatre
by guest critic Gregory Forrest
I really wanted to love this.
A new musical about gay men under Mussolini (politically, if not physically) sounds so exciting. Silvio Berlusconi’s claim that ‘Mussolini never killed people, just sent them to holiday camps’ brushes off the dark reality of imprisonment, violence, and unrecorded deaths. Yet by clearing out the closet, government officials gave gay men in particular the freedom to live openly and form tentative relationships in their Mediterranean exile. It was a queerly liberating sea breeze.
Cafe Society Swing, Theatre Royal Stratford East
by an anonymous guest critic
An evening of spectacular performances depict the true story of New York’s first jazz club, Cafe Society, run by immigrants and allowed black and white audiences to integrate. The club’s audiences watched the most talented performers of their time, including Billie Holiday, who gave her first performance of harrowingly beautiful lynching song ‘Strange Fruit’ there.
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Drayton Arms Theatre
by guest critic Amy Toledano
It is rare that a large-scale musical can be performed to its full potential in a tiny, unventilated room above a pub, but MKEC’s latest production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee does exactly that – and then some.
Three Sisters, Yard Theatre
By Laura Kressly
British theatre’s slavish reverence for classic texts stifles innovation, resulting in safe, similar productions of the same collection of canonical works. This attitude needs to be challenged, and RashDash’s Three Sisters proves they’re the company to do it. Their female-centred, millennial take on Chekhov’s story of three women trapped in the Russian countryside pining for their old lives in Moscow is a gloriously irreverent and refreshing interpretation.
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