Author: The Reviews Hub - London

Writer: Temi Majekodunmi Director: Jessica Mensah Olu is a typical teenager – nervous around girls, exasperated by his family’s rules and facing the everyday dilemma of what snack to buy at the local shop. Writer and performer Temi Majekodunmi takes the audience on a journey through a day in The Life of Olu. Growing up in North West London, he invites the audience into a glimpse of Olu’s counselling sessions, conversations with his mother and interactions with his classmates. But while some teenagers have a relatively easy ride through life, Olu has experienced life-changing events and heart-breaking moments. But while…

 Creator and Director: Matthew Lenton Of all the shows at this year’s London International Mime Festival, Vanishing Point’s Interiors corresponds most closely to what we think of as traditional mime. Behind glass windows we watch seven people at a dinner party eating, drinking and dancing. With only the barest spoken narrative, their meal is fraught with emotions that we recognise too easily. Sergio and his granddaughter Lola entertain guests on the Winter Solstice to celebrate the passing of the shortest day and, symbolically, their survival. Their cabin in the snow is Kai Fischer’s handsome set that would be quite at…

Writer: Sonja Ferdinand Director:  Sofi Orem Skoglund There are two unforgettable images at either end of Sonja Ferdinand’s swiftly paced radio play. One is the perimeter fence of an African airport; the other is a sunny suburban garden, complete with dahlia beds. They illustrate starkly the different experiences of desperate migrants, and of us, the fortunate ones who can listen to podcasts. As we later learn, it’s hard to charge your device when you’re on the run. The Dream Machine is a double-stranded story, told by two voices, intricately woven by director Sofi Orem Skoglund.  In one strand, where the…

Writers: Georgina Thomas & Cassie Symes Georgie and Cassie have their worlds turned upside down when an email from the United Nations lands in their inbox. Stuck in dead-end jobs, feeling underappreciated and overworked, they initially brush it off as spam, but when the KGB and CIA get in touch, they realise it’s their ticket out of administrative hell. Thrust into their new roles as world leaders they have to think quick to solve pressing world problems. Can climate change be solved by creating a buzzy new bee-themed cryptocurrency? Will an orgasm tax help to abolish tax evasion? And most…

Creators: Romain Bermond and Jean-Baptiste Maillet With the cancellation of major festivals and on-going disruption to theatrical performance, it is heartening to see that incredible creativity and expression can still thrive as Stereoptik’s Romain Bermond and Jean-Baptiste Maillet return to the Barbican for their latest show Stellaire ,showing for only six performances as part of the London International Mime Festival. It’s an ingenious piece that combines the story of the universe and the love of one couple with live painting, digital design, puppetry and musical composition. Running at just 60-minutes, Bermond and Maillet take the audience through space by creating…

Director: Catherine Harvey Ghosts of yesteryear mingle with timeless historical settings in an engaging new digital offering which explores the vivid life and times of Earl’s Court in London. From old time music hall players to suffragettes and from artistic geniuses to regulars at the local pubs, there’s a sparkling array of personalities and places featured in Finborough Theatre’s latest online offering, which gives a colourful flavour of the area in which the theatre stands. An Earl’s Court Miscellany is a cleverly curated work, devised and directed with warmth and passion by Catherine Harvey, who is also among the performers.…

Writer: Mark Farrelly Director: Sarah-Louise Young 31 January 2022 would have been Derek Jarman’s 80th birthday. However, the creative polymath died 28 years ago from complications related to AIDS. In recognition of Jarman’s life and legacy, Mark Farrelly has created this one-man-show. Designer, filmmaker, painter, writer, activist, and gardener, Jarman’s life and career is as fantastical as it is tragic. Born into a family that was both harsh and loveless, his father threw him out at 21. He hopped around London from one squat to another while studying Art. And, in the first of many surprises, Jarman got his first…