Directors: Adam Meggido and Pippa Evans Reviewer: Maryam Philpott While the stand-up tour and the panel show are the aim of most aspiring comedians, improvisation has been relegated to the role of poor cousin. Even in the theatre, dramatic plays are tacitly seen as somehow more accomplished, whereas making comedy look easy is actually hard work. Showstopper Productions are on ...
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But It Still Goes On – Finborough Theatre, London
Writer: Robert Graves Director: Fidelis Morgan Reviewer: Richard Maguire This is an odd one: a ‘lost’ Robert Graves play which documents the aftershocks of war and, surprisingly, has two characters, one male and one female, struggling to come to terms with their homosexuality. Very funny and almost embarrassingly melodramatic, it’s difficult to label this play with a genre. Perhaps, as ...
Read More »Improvathon 2016 – The Lost Theatre, London
Director: Adam Meggido Reviewer: Edie Ranvier Seek to describe Improvathon 2016, and numbers come easier than words. 50 hours’ continuous improvised comedy. 25 two-hour episodes across four “seasons”. Ninth annual event. More than 40 performers. An audience in their seats from 7pm on Friday to 9pm on Sunday. They do let you out if you ask nicely. This year’s ...
Read More »The Divided Laing – Arcola Theatre, London
Writer: Patrick Marmion Director: Michael Kingsbury Reviewer: Dan English Alan Cox is a delight in Patrick Marmion’s new play at the Arcola Theatre, The Divided Laing. Directed by Michael Kingsbury, Marmion’s play is a fictional account of the life of R.(Ronnie) D. Laing, a maverick of the psychiatric world who struggles to balance helping those with mental illness with ...
Read More »Kingmaker – Above the Arts, London
Writers: Robert Khan and Tom Salinsky Director: Hannah Eidinow Reviewer: Maryam Philpott How timely in the week of a General Election to remind us that politics is a dirty business. As a nation goes to the polls to decide whether it’s time for a change or better the devil you know, it’s easy to forget that the public vote ...
Read More »Kingmaker – Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh
Writers: Robert Khan &Tom Salinksky Director: Hannah Eidnow Reviewer: Joanna Trainor "A teddy bear mixed with a serial killer." Last week we learnt that Boris Johnson wants to stand as an MP, a helpful marketing tool for Robert Khan and Tom Salinsky's new play Kingmaker. This one hour piece intelligently questions how detrimental it would be to have a bumbling ...
Read More »Longing – Hampstead Theatre, London
Writer: William Boyd, based on two short stories by Anton Chekhov Director: Nina Raine Reviewer: Lizzie Kirkwood [rating:4] Based on two short stories by Anton Chekov, novelist and short story writer William Boyd’s first play is an interesting experiment. Combining My Life and A Visit to Friends to create a new play, Longing is both Chekhov and not quite Chekhov. ...
Read More »Cornelius – Finborough Theatre, London
Writer: J.B. Priestley Director: Sam Yates Reviewer: Ian Foster [rating:4] Continuing their well-trodden path of delving into the dusty shelves of neglected British plays, the Finborough have come up trumps yet again with this neatly amusing and unpredictable little curiosity Cornelius. Written in 1935 by J.B. Priestley, especially for his friend Ralph Richardson, it was something of a flop and ...
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