political theatre

Faust, Theatertreffen

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by guest critic Maeve Campbell

On entering a seven-hour long production one might ask the following questions: will I understand the plot, will I be able to sit through it for the duration and will it be worth the plane journey, holiday costs and copious amounts of pilsner consumed over the weekend? The answers are no and no but, to the last question, a resounding yes. Directed by the controversial Frank Castorf, famously ousted as leader of the Volksbühne theatre after nearly fifteen years of service, this production is his swan-song. Castorf’s previous work has been described as ‘deliberately incoherent’, and this Faust does not disappoint.

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Returning to Reims, Theatertreffen

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by guest critic Maeve Campbell

The audience enters the Schaubuhne theatre to voyeuristically inspect the inane musings of two men, protected by the glass of a recording booth at the back of a beautifully brown, wood-panelled studio. This space provides the backdrop for an extended examination of European class politics through reading and discussion of French sociologist Didier Eribon’s memoir, a surprise best-seller in Germany last year.

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Why Is the Sky Blue?, Southwark Playhouse

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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?

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Eurohouse, Shoreditch Town Hall

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by guest critic Maeve Campbell

Before the actual show of Eurohouse begins, Bertrand Lesca and Nasi Voutas pitch a comfortable, connected atmosphere between them and audience of the Shoreditch Town Hall. They seem sincerely interested to know where we have all come from, they excuse the DIY nature of the show as Bert will be controlling the lights and sounds, and they make us all hold hands with each other. This feels like a safe, secure space.

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How to Be a Londoner in an Hour, Centre17

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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.

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Mark Thomas: Showtime from the Frontline, Theatre Royal Stratford East

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by guest critic Joanna Trainor

Mark Thomas knows his audience. He starts the show with a dig at Quentin Lett’s racist review before calling audiences at the Royal Court “a bunch of Tory fuckers,” and the room’s already onside. It’s obvious that almost everyone at the Theatre Royal Stratford East has seen Thomas gig before. The whooping coming from the elderly gentleman sat next to me when he came on stage was particularly lovely.

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Dollywould, Soho Theatre

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By Gregory Forrest

Self-proclaimed Sh!t Theatre turn trash into treasure. They’ve been killing fringe circuits over the last few years, and Dollywould is meant to be their ‘mainstream cross-over hit’. Or so they say. The show then takes aim at every kind of ‘mainstream’ taste level imaginable: country music, visual art, physical beauty, cabaret, and theatre. It’s an absolute shitshow and the most fun I’ve had in a theatre in ages.

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Trust, Gate Theatre

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by Laura Kressly

A couple who have been together for either 14 years or 3 weeks argues as the world around them threatens to collapse. Or maybe it’s collapsed already. An Uber driver writes a book about the fall of civilisation. A lonely woman in a hotel room surveys her destructive work in the financial sector.

Time passes and bends and flips. Personal and global crises unfold in an endless cycle of pain and rage.

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Margaret Thatcher Queen of Soho, VAULT Festival

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by guest critic Gregory Forrest

The night before Parliament votes on Section 28, an amendment to the Local Government Act which prevents schools or similar local authorities from promoting homosexuality, Magaret Thatcher finds herself in a Soho nightclub. This is the fabulous premise to the now iconic drag cabaret: Margaret Thatcher, Queen of Soho.

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