Drama

Writer: Amanda Whittington Directors: Jason Capewell and Alasdair Harvey Reviewer: Selwyn Knight Four disparate and apparently breezy ladies escape their humdrum lives in a fish packing company for a day, celebrating Pearl’s retirement by having a day at the races. During their day away, we find each has hidden depths as secrets are revealed. For each, the day is a turning ...

Director: Daisy Evans Reviewer: Hannah Powell Disney and theatre fans alike have begun to flock to The Vaults to catch a glimpse of their latest immersive creation; Sounds & Sorcery: Celebrating Fantasia. An event that promises to be a “completely immersive sound and visual extravaganza” allowing you to create your own path through the underground tunnels. Using cutting-edge binaural sound, audio ...

Writer: William Gibson Director: Gary Condes Reviewer: Scott Matthewman When you are in the company of two characters for the best part of two and a half hours, it helps if you want to be in their company. In this respect, Two for the Seesaw is hampered from the off, centering as it does around an insensitive, perpetually angry jerk and ...

Writers: Brandon Force, Nicole Palomba and Audrey Thayer Director: Tracy Collier Reviewer: Maryam Philpott Who we are and where we come from still matters more than we’d care to admit. In some circles, having the right lineage will still open all kinds of doors, while for others a shared cultural and religious heritage defines whole communities. But as each generation ...

Writer: Ella Hickson Director: Dominique Chapman Reviewer: Richard Maguire If the directors taking part in the Directors’ Festival at The Orange Tree are the future of theatre, then we can expect some exciting times ahead. In the hands of Dominique Chapman, Precious Little Talent, a fast, fast-talking comedy about transatlantic relations, shines as bright as New York’s Chrysler Building.  On a rooftop in the city that never sleeps, 19-year-old Sam meets, improbably, an ...

Writer: Luke Barnes Director: Samson Hawkins Reviewer: Richard Maguire If only all new directors had the energetic vision of Samson Hawkins. He directs Luke Barnes’ new play, Katie Johnstone, as if it were an Olympic sport. His actors are athletes in this precise, tight production. And despite all the mess on stage, it’s as clean as a referee’s whistle.  Katie Johnstone is part of the Directors’ Festival running at the ...

Writer: William Shakespeare Director: Tom Littler Reviewer: Steve Turner Written towards the end of the sixteenth century Shakespeare’s comedy Love’s Labour’s Lost features the longest scene and the longest word in any of his works. There is also more than the usual helping of sophisticated wordplay and convoluted literary references, such that it might seem a little impenetrable. Thankfully the Guildford ...

Writer: Danny Robins Director: Hannah Price Reviewer: Scott Matthewman There are many archetypes of British comedy at play in End of the Pier, Park Theatre’s new drama about funny business by Danny Robins. Michael is a mainstream BBC comedian, currently recording a second series of his stand-up show comprising mild, ineffectual material about struggling with duvet covers. His father Bobby ...