Tag Archives: Finborough Theatre

Writer: Jacob Marx Rice Director: Alex Howarth Reviewer: Maryam Philpott Romcoms teach us that a chance encounter can be life changing, that two destined souls will find each other and eventually live happily ever after. The reality is somewhat different, particularly when the central couple are both suffering from different forms of mental health issue and meet in the psychiatrist’s ...

Writer: Eleanor Burgess Director: Matthew Iliffe Reviewer: Stephen Bates Dramatists are often accused of re-writing and falsifying history, but here, in a twist, we have a playwright who is accusing historians of getting it all wrong. Eleanor Burgess’ play, receiving its European premiere after a successful run Off-Broadway, challenges perceived truths about America’s past, going right back to the Revolution. ...

Writer: Emma Kinane Director: Alice Kornitzer Reviewer: Richard Maguire Everything comes together quite wonderfully in Anahera, the new production at The Finborough. Emma Kinane’s script, both realistic and symbolic, is tightly wrought, and under Alice Kornitzer’s direction, as sharp and dangerous as a knife’s edge. Superlative acting, especially from Caroline Faber, guarantees that this play about parenting is as tense ...

Writer: Philip King Director: Tricia Thorns Reviewer: Maryam Philpott Where does the Finborough Theatre find them, all those classics barely performed since the era in which they were written and only decades later making their London debuts in this tiny space above a pub in South West London. The latest discover from their bottomless treasure trove is Philip King’s 1970 ...

Writer: Tegan McLeod Director: Jonathan Martin Reviewer: Maryam Philpott Immigration and deportation programmes are notoriously bleak and devoid of humanity or compassion for the perceived criminal, and in America these processes are even more complex as Bounty Hunters and other kinds of hired law enforcement professionals play a part. Tegan McLeod’s first full length play in the UK Lunatic 19s: ...

Writer and director: Julia Pascal Reviewer: David Guest One of the greatest classical Greek revenge tragedies is given an ultra- modern spin in Blueprint Medea, receiving its world premiere at the Finborough Theatre. Ever since Euripides wrote about Medea in the 5thCentury (using existing Greek myths) the central character of the barbarian princess scorned, rejected by her heroic husband and driven ...

Writer: St John Ervine Director: David Gilmore Reviewer: Maryam Philpott “The half-witted heroine has held the stage too long” so writer, war veteran and drama critic St John Ervine determined to do something about it. It may seem like a perennial problem finding good leading female roles, one which our current industry is working to resolve, but Ervine was writing ...

Music and lyrics: Lionel Bart Book: Alun Owen Director: Matthew Iliffe Reviewer: David Guest It’s a fair bet that anyone remotely familiar with Lionel Bart’s musical Maggie May knows it through Judy Garland’s 1964 EP of four of its songs or the 18thCentury ballad on which it’s based. Shirley Bassey recorded one of the songs and even The Beatles sang a ...