South East Reviews

Writer: Tom Stoppard Director: Rachel Kavanaugh Reviewer: Steve Turner Set on a transatlantic liner during the 1930s, Rough Crossing is the story of the attempt by two playwrights to get their new work ready for Broadway. Given that it’s a four-day crossing and they don’t have a satisfactory ending, the beginning still needs knocking into shape and they haven’t got ...

Writer: Malorie Blackman Adaptor: Sabrina Mahfouz Director: Esther Richardson Reviewer: Michael Gray This ambitious new adaptation by Sabrina Mahfouz of Malorie Blackman’s seminal Young Adult dystopian masterpiece has a tough job on its hands; It has to make the story accessible and immediate to those who’ve read the books and those who haven’t. A whole alternative society, divided, we quickly ...

Writer: Noel Coward Director: Stephen Unwin Reviewer: Alice Fowler In a Swiss hotel room, great novelist Hugo Latymer (Simon Callow) embraces his dotage. His afternoon attire – stripy dressing gown and monogrammed slippers – tells us all we need to know about this vain and self-indulgent man. After 20 years, his marriage to the elegant Hilde - once his secretary, ...

Writer: Yasmina Reza Director: Ellie Jones Reviewer: Steve Turner Over 20 years ago Yasmina Reza’s short play was a major hit on the West End stage, with many well-known actors willing to take on the role of one of the three protagonists. It comes as some surprise then, to learn that it was written as a tragedy and not as ...

England's largest annual curated multi-arts festival is back. In its 53rd year, the Brighton Festival is this year guest directed by Malian singer-songwriter, Rokia Traoré and promises to be a celebration of multi-cultural story telling, with a key focus on dance and music. Traoré herself is bringing three exclusive performances to Brighton. A mix of Malian storytelling and music, structured ...

Writer: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Adaptor and Director: Nick Lane Reviewer: Steve Turner The second of Conan Doyle’s series of Sherlock Holmes novels, The Sign of Four is a slightly surprising choice for a stage treatment as it is built around a complex storyline incorporating flashbacks to various past episodes. Utilising some clever character changes and sticking close to the ...

Director: J.D. Henshaw Reviewer: Alice Fowler Do you believe in God? And the devil? In that case, how about ghosts and witches? With these questions, addressed directly to the audience, Sweet Productions’ Father of Lies - a chilling retelling of a murder case in which anything seems possible - begins. The Star Inn’s atmospheric stage is perfect for this dark, intense ...

Writer: Agatha Christie Director: Gareth Armstrong Reviewer: Alice Fowler How well can you really know someone? Is everyone, in fact, a stranger? And what do you do when you find yourself cut off in an eccentric country guesthouse and learn there is a murderer in your midst? Such questions have thrilled and provoked Mousetrap audiences since 1952. It is, famously, ...