Creators/Directors: Ellie Dubois and Pete Lannon Reviewer: Scott Matthewman “Eye contact,” is one of the few spoken elements in Nosedive. Eye contact is especially important in this piece, about growth, trust and intergenerational relationships – and is always greeted by a smile. Scotland-based contemporary performance company Superfan are the 2019 recipients of the Oxford Samuel Beckett Theatre Trust Award, which ...

Writer: William Shakespeare Director: Justin Audibert Reviewer: Stephen Bates Some plays struggle to stand the test of time. In the not so distant past, The Taming of the Shrew could be seen almost constantly, almost everywhere, but now it has been eclipsed by the much tamer Much Ado About Nothing as the Shakespearean romcom of choice. …Shrew may now be ...

Writer: William Shakespeare Director: Gavin McAlinden Reviewer: Scott Matthewman Finding a new take on a Shakespeare classic is a tricky task at the best of times. For a fringe production, sharing a stage and set with plays by Ibsen and Strindberg, it is certainly an uphill battle. The Acting Gymnasium’s Macbeth, in repertory with the company’s Miss Julie and A ...

Original Story: Alick Glass and Suzanne Glass Music and Lyrics: Alick Glass Director: Warren Wills Reviewer: Karl O’Doherty A thrilling story that could have come straight from the celluloid of 1930’s Hollywood and some sparky music to back it up should have spelt success for Reputation. Sadly, maudlin sentimentality, gaping holes in the story, uninspiring songs and odd characters conspire ...

Writer: Helen Monks and Matt Woodhead Director: Matt Woodhead Reviewer: Maryam Philpott Fears about radicalisation in England’s schools has been a major concern in the last few years as stories of young British Muslims joining terrorist organisations were stoked by the press while the Trojan Horse letter invoking a conspiracy at the heart of Birmingham’s school system was made public. ...

Director: Tomer Heymann Reviewer: Richard Maguire Pornography has rarely been seen as an art, but in recent years this view has changed bringing with it a new academic interest in the genre. Soon Netflix will release its Circus of Books, a film by Rachel Mason about a porn shop in West Hollywood while Jon Ronson’s podcasts about the sex industry ...

Writer: Sam Shepard Director: Alexander Lass Reviewer: Karl O’Doherty A night with an old friend, filled with talk powered by Woodford Reserve, will produce conversation filled with truths, half truths, joy, sadness and anger. Sam Shepard took that experience common to many and created a character driven 70 minutes, putting shape to tough themes such as alcohol abuse, domestic strife ...

Writer: Hattie Naylor adapted from the book by Sarah Waters Director: Alastair Whatley Reviewer: Richard Maguire Without a doubt, The Night Watch is one of Sarah Waters’ finest novels. Meticulously researched, it follows the lives of a group of people, including four lesbians, over the Second World War. But instead of starting in 1939, Waters begins her book in 1947. ...