Cindy Marcolina - Page 13

When Brexit went from theory to reality, Clare Fraenkel looked into her German heritage and found out she was entitled to a German passport. Due to the restoration of German citizenship granted by Article 116 of the Basic Law, her grandfather’s epic escape from Nazi Germany in 1933 had a domino effect on her European future.

All in all, the concept is good but unfocused. The vignettes might need stronger intention and substance, as having roles with the same name is hardly enough to tie them together at this stage.

It's been a messy, disillusioning time for the arts. Another blow came last week when it was announced that VAULT Festival had to find a new home once this edition closed. BroadwayWorld spoke to Bec Martin, Head of Programming at VAULT, about the devastating news.

Owens scratches the surface of Welsh underdevelopment and economic deprivation, going as far as giving Julie a perfunctory invective against posh kids, but refraining from digging deeper into the issues. It’s disheartening to see such a big platform being under-exploited to the benefit of a silly narrative. Having a diversity of accents across three stages doesn't automatically guarantee quality.

In a landscape dominated by a dearth of lesbian stories, it’s refreshing to find one that doesn’t deal with sexuality at all, but focuses on the negotiations of parenthood and the complications of personal connections.

Although the script is generally articulate and well-written, there are a few passages that might need some TLC as they come off as rushed and remain unexplained. Running at just over an hour, a longer show would certainly patch up any kind of doubts we have at this point. Compositor E has the potential of becoming an exceptional piece about who actually makes history.

Nothing’s what it seems in Olivia Foan’s new play, but a sluggish build-up and even weaker ending don’t make The Tinker as exciting as it could be.

A fully formed, mature play about the intricacies of navigating young love and mental health.

Ultimately, Powell is asking who helps the people whose job is to help others. He correlates the ideas of protective isolation and arbitrary family connections, blame and regret, death and survival. The play is thought-provoking in all the right spots, but somehow the text has an unfinished feel to it. Powell has proved himself an accomplished writer. We wonder what happened this time.

Just like with Romeo and Juliet, there are a few ways to stage the Scottish Play. By leaning into the different themes, it can become a political drama or a kitchen sink tragedy. Then, there’s whatever Mark Leipacher’s version is trying to do. Performed by two actors, Shakespeare’s tale of ambition and blood-thirst becomes a starved, skeletal shadow of what the piece is.

In historian Orlando Figes’ debut play, Flaubert’s friends Ivan Turgenev, Émile Zola, and George Sand urge him to either strip down his writing to please the masses or get a temporary job to fend off his creditors. The Oyster Problem debuts at Jermyn Street Theatre directed by Philip Wilson in a stiff and stuffy production. 

The production makes a farce of geopolitical tensions and falls short in satire. It over-delivers its cheap gags and over-engages in silly audience interaction.

Is Britain a functioning meritocracy? Many try to argue that it is, but research states otherwise. Upstart Theatre urge the audience to take matters into their own hands by playing The Learning Lottery, a “fast-paced, high-stakes game show” that determines the future of three children.

The importance and beauty of some productions extend beyond what the audience see on stage. Residue was born after two years of creative workshops for victims of domestic and sexual abuse. It’s about the women who shared their experiences, but so much more too. Verity Richards and Izzy Kabban deliver a piece that’s as heart-wrenching in its origin as it is heartwarming in its spirit. 

A masturbatory look at an infuriating lack of communication. 

The one created by Leeza Jessie, Xavier De Santos, Samuel De La Torre, Alice Barton, Sofia Velez, and composer John Baggott is an astonishingly strange show, which wouldn’t be a problem if it wasn’t so… well, meaninglessly weird.

'Hi, would you do me the honour of spitting in this cup for me?' asks the gorgeous person in lingerie as you step through the door.

A frustratingly capricious script shaped into a disturbingly sexy, impressive production.

The singularity of souls, how coincidence and circumstances change the course of a life, the idiosyncratic relationship we create with specific people, they all come together with refined technique and deft use of language. It’s a gem of a play. 

It’s a heavy topic, and the company bear the weight of it throughout. MOLKA is commendable for its avant-garde approach to the subject, which has the vice of a Tate Modern performance art piece more than a straight play. While it gets slightly lost in its stylistic choices and fails to provide a map for the audience to navigate its symbolism, it’s a diamond in the rough.