Tag Archives: Orange Tree Theatre

Writer: Jo Clifford Director: Paul Miller Reviewer: Stephen Bates Marrying the styles of restoration comedy and 1950s absurdism, Paul Miller’s revival of Jo Clifford’s Losing Venice is a curious venture that feels out of place and out of time. The play premiered at the 1985 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where, perhaps, it passed as frivolous fun, but, put under harsher scrutiny ...

Writer:  Nina Segal Director:  Evangeline Cullingworth Reviewer:  Richard Maguire The first few minutes of this show are spent in total darkness as we hear the cries of a newborn baby, only broken by rapid breathing as the baby gathers its strength to continue its deafening onslaught. Is the baby in pain, or is it punishing its parents for bringing it ...

Writer: Ella Hickson Director: Dominique Chapman Reviewer: Richard Maguire If the directors taking part in the Directors’ Festival at The Orange Tree are the future of theatre, then we can expect some exciting times ahead. In the hands of Dominique Chapman, Precious Little Talent, a fast, fast-talking comedy about transatlantic relations, shines as bright as New York’s Chrysler Building.  On a rooftop in the city that never sleeps, 19-year-old Sam meets, improbably, an ...

Writer: Luke Barnes Director: Samson Hawkins Reviewer: Richard Maguire If only all new directors had the energetic vision of Samson Hawkins. He directs Luke Barnes’ new play, Katie Johnstone, as if it were an Olympic sport. His actors are athletes in this precise, tight production. And despite all the mess on stage, it’s as clean as a referee’s whistle.  Katie Johnstone is part of the Directors’ Festival running at the ...

Writer: Roland Schimmelpfennig Translator: David Tushingham Director: Alice Malin Designer: Lizzie Clachan Reviewer: Ron Simpson Roland Schimmelpfennig is apparently one of Germany’s most performed playwrights at the moment, which says a fair bit for the discrimination of the German theatre-going public. Even if it is never easy to assess how a translation might differ from the original, David Tushingham’s version ...

Writer: Roland Schimmelpfennig Translator: David Tushingham Director: Alice Malin Reviewer: Sam Lowe Have we come to watch a rehearsal or a play? The audience is first welcomed with a rehearsal room set, an intriguing design by Lizzie Clachan. We see desk chairs and tables littered with post-it notes, half-full water bottles, highlighters, snacks, and the list goes on. Have they ...

Writer: George Bernard Shaw Director: Paul Miller Reviewer: Richard Maguire The full title of Bernard Shaw’s 1909 comedy is Misalliance: A Debate in One Sitting, but the Orange Tree has wisely chosen to omit the subtitle of its latest production of lesser-known works by the Irish playwright. There is debate here, but this is a more light-hearted Shaw than we ...

Writer: Lot Vekemans Director: Paul Miller Reviewer: Richard Maguire Another week, another one-act two-hander opens in London. First Heisenberg at the Wyndham’s and, last week, Trestle at Southwark Playhouse and now, this week, Poison at the Orange Tree Theatre. Whereas the other two are forms of romcoms tracing the first days of new relationships, Poison takes place at the other end, focussing on a failed marriage torn apart ...