London Reviews

Director:  Hofesh Shechter Choreographers: Hofesh Shechter, Becky Namgauds, Duwane Taylor, James Finnemore, and Joseph Toonga Reviewer:  Richard Maguire Marching bands and dancing clowns come to the Tower of London in the last event of this year’s successful Lift Festival. Directed by Hofesh Shechter, the most exciting choreographer of recent years, East Wall is a dance extravaganza at one of the world’s ...

Devisers: Kirsty Langley, Sarah Rickman and PJ Stanley Director: PJ Stanley Reviewer: Scott Matthewman A popular range of children’s books in the 1980s was the Choose Your Own Adventure series, which required the reader to make decisions at the bottom of each page that would potentially veer the story off into radically different directions. Theatre company The Juice Factory is aiming ...

Writer: Rory Mullarkey Director: Sam Pritchard Reviewer: Stephen Bates In 1960, Orson Welles’ production of Eugene Ionesco’s Rhinoceros appeared at the Royal Court. In the 58 years of innovative theatre that have followed, apart from a 2007 revival of the same play, it is doubtful if the famous venue has seen anything quite so utterly bonkers as Rory Mullarkey’s absurdist, ...

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 ...