Tag Archives: Barbican

Writer: Jamie Hale (Not Dying) Directors: Kate O’Donnell (Not Dying), Shereen Hamilton (Showcase) Reviewer: Scott Matthewman Jamie Hale’s health is the focus of his spoken-word piece Not Dying, which forms the first half of the Barbican’s latest Pit Party, evenings of curated art and theatre. Hale’s progressive disability means they are dependent on a 170kg powered wheelchair and hoists. Their ...

Writer: Anton Chekhov Director: Timofey Kulyabin Reviewer: Richard Maguire The opulently named Theatre of Nations is in town and earlier this week brought the stories of Shukshin to the stage. Now it turns its hand to a more familiar name, Chekhov, and his early and rarely performed play, Ivanov, moving the action to contemporary times. The play completely stands up ...

Lyrics: Tim Rice Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber Director: Timothy Sheader Reviewer: Maryam Philpott It’s a great summer to be an Andrew Lloyd Webber fan with three notable revivals opening within a month of each other. In August, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre have Evita directed, intriguingly, by Jamie Lloyd who will almost certainly bring the same vigour and innovation that he ...

Writer: Francis Beaumont Director: Declan Donnellan Reviewer: Richard Maguire As theatregoers wouldn’t it be great if we could change the course of events on stage to suit our tastes? After all, we’re paying for the seats, and surely we deserve a happy ending? In The Knight of the Burning Pestle two Russian tourists clamber on stage and harangue the cast ...

Director: Charles Atlas Choreographers: Rashoun Mitchell and Silas Riener Reviewer: Scott Matthewman While 3D movie going is these days primarily confined to superhero movies and CGI animations, its usage often feels as if it’s more of an attempt to dissuade would-be pirates from recording the screen than contributing to artistic endeavour. I have long thought, however, that dance movies benefit from ...

Writer: Bertolt Brecht Director: Yury Butusov Reviewer: Gus Mitchell The Moscow Pushkin Drama Theatre is certainly not short on ambition. In just one week at the Barbican they have been performing three of their most acclaimed productions: Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, Brecht’s The Good Person of Szechwan, and Mother’s Field, a wordless adaptation of a Russian novella. Sadly, it was ...

Creator: Amit Lahav Reviewer: Maryam Philpott Physical-theatre company Gecko give a whole new meaning to the idea of being married to your job in their new show The Wedding which arrives at the Barbican for a short run as part of the London International Mime Festival. Known for their integrative approaches to storytelling that often combines dance, movement and music, this ...

Performers and Directors: Elise Vigneron, Hélène Barreau Reviewer:  Richard Maguire The capital’s longest running theatre festival, the London International Mime Festival, continues with the small but perfectly packaged Anywhere by French company, Le Théâtre de L’Entrouvert; theatre of the half-open. Figuring Oedipus as an ice puppet, Anywhere is simultaneously exquisite and underwhelming. Performed by Elise Vigneron and Hélèle Barreau, this is the ...