Tag Archives: Finborough Theatre

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 ...

Writer: Athol Fugard Director: Janet Suzman Reviewer: Stephen Bates The abomination that was Apartheid has been consigned to the history books, but the voice of South African playwright Athol Fugard lives on. A Lesson from Aloes, which was first staged in 1978 and received its UK premiere at the National Theatre in 1984, has been robbed of some of its ...

Writer: Richard Kalinoski Director: Jelena Budimir Reviewer: Stephen Bates Richard Kalinoski’s Beast on the Moon, which premiered in 1996, covers events beginning almost a century ago, but its relevance to the plight of refugees in the modern world is striking. The main characters, Aram and Seta are Christian Armenians, newly arrived in Milwaukee in 1921, having fled from persecution by ...

Writer/Director: Che Walker  Reviewer: Scott Matthewman Before its air conditioning system was installed a few years ago, one of the drawbacks of attending the Finborough Theatre’s productions was having to endure a stifling heat even in the dead of winter. Those days may be long gone, thank goodness, but writer/director Che Walker’s latest production brings back such memories. Set in ...

Writer / Director: Rachael Boulton Reviewer: Maryam Philpott It’s all for nothing so it seems, everything we do, every contribution we make doesn’t count, no loyalty, no trust, one day they will come for all of us. Rachael Boulton’s new play Exodus may not sound like the cheeriest 80-minutes, but this semi-absurdist comedy is an interesting examination of responsibility, community and ...

Writer: Irwin Shaw Director:  Rafaella Marcus Reviewer:  Richard Maguire In an unspecified war in the 1930s, six dead American soldiers refuse to be buried. As their fellow soldiers shovel earth over their graves, the corpses rise to their feet and they will not lie down again. This is the fascinating premise at the start of Bury The Dead, but unfortunately, ...