Author: The Reviews Hub - London

Based on the novel by Marie Belloc-Lowndes and the film adaptation by Alfred Hitchcock Director: Jack Robertson A dastardly killer is on the loose in Victorian London in this terrifically inventive adaptation of Marie Belloc-Lowndes’ novel. This production, part of the Flywheel repertory season at the theatre, where the company of six is performing six plays in six weeks,, not only uses the novel as a source but also draws strong inspiration from the Alfred Hitchcock 1927 film adaptation, and closely and sincerely pays homage to the silent movie in this portrayal. The play, coming in at just under an…

Co-Creators: Francis Majekidunmi, Delson Weekes, Vicki Hawkins and  Rachel Gildea Co-Directors: Rachel Gildea and  Vicki Hawkins Stewarded by actors donning white tracksuits with red stripes (oddly reminiscent of Elvis’ attire), you’re taken on a psychotherapeutic journey, led safely through a surreal array of story and dance where you witness different relationships with food, from the delicious and easy to dream of, to the traumatic and harder to speak on. From start to finish, you are brought alongside six actors who take the stage, sharing five modest golden toilets. With no interval, the show runs around 90 minutes. You’ll not shy…

Writer: Samuel D. Hunter Director: Jack Serio The small town of Clarkston is named after William Clark of the famous Lewis & Clark expedition that explored America’s uncharted West. Now, some 200 years later, Jake (Joe Locke), a descendant of William Clark, finds himself retracing this journey while working night shifts at the local Costco alongside Chris (Ruaridh Mollica). What begins as workplace camaraderie quickly deepens into friendship and potentially something more. As their bond strengthens, their individual stories emerge: Jake is grappling with a life-limiting genetic disease, while Chris struggles with the aftermath of abandoning his drug-addicted mother (Sophie…

Writer and Director: Caroline Guiela Nguyen Caroline Guiela Nguyen’s Lacrima is an engrossing, visually stunning show. Set in the imaginary haute couture fashion house of Beliana in Paris, split-screen video projections extend the action to Mumbai, where dazzling embroidery is created by Muslim men, and to Alençon with its famous lace-making tradition. The drama centres on a unique commission: to create a wedding dress for a fictional ‘Princess of England,’ in the mould of Princess Di and the former Kate Middleton. Images of their wedding dress are projected onto a screen in the atelier, and there is a comic scene…

Writer: Will Lord Director: Anna Ledwich Will Lord’s assured debut play, The Billionaire Inside Your Head, affords one of the most uncomfortable opening monologues you are likely to see this year, delivered by a splendidly malign modern gothic horror creation whose ethereal presence will accompany you long after you leave the theatre. “Look at each other. Find someone across the room. Don’t blink,” the Voice, a blond, blood-sucking Scottish succubus in the form of a motivational speaker, instructs us. Janet Bird’s grimy subterranean corporate set is transverse, and the house lights are up throughout much of the play, so it…

Internationally renowned Disabled artist Marc Brew and Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui have collaborated to present an Accident / a Life,  a profound theatrical exploration of the moment that Marc’s life changed forever.  At just 20 years old, Brew lost three friends and his ability to walk in a devastating car accident. Yet his career as a dancer was not destroyed. Blending dance, poetry, and multimedia theatre, this unmissable performance celebrates Brew’s resilience, humour, and unbreakable spirit in the face of unimaginable trauma. An Accident / a Life is as heartwarming as it is heartbreaking, a deeply moving…

Walking through Dirty Looks is an experience of constant surprise, occasional beauty, and frequent wit. Collected here is a history, spanning a little over 40 years, of work inspired by “dirt”, which is largely interpreted in a more literal sense: the effects of the organic on clothes, but is sometimes interpreted as waste, damage, or in a social sense. Some of the history falls flat, particularly Vivienne Westwood’s collection of work inspired by cowboys and outlaws, which surely at one point resonated with the theme of dirt, but currently feels like it just resonates with a camp style of Western…

Book: Mark Childers Music and Lyrics: Seth Bisen-Hersh   Director: Cecilie Fray Relationships are a challenge, particularly when the person you love doesn’t love you, a scenario which shapes the lives of the four-strong cast of Seth Bisen-Hersh and Mark Childers’ new musical Love Quirks. Performed at The Other Palace Studio directed by Cecilie Fray, this feels more like a collection of songs still seeking a more robust plot and stronger characterisation, but with a little rearrangement, it has the potential to offer shrewd insights into dating, love, marriage and expectations in your 20s, and why these ideals are so…