BWW Review: ORPHEUS DESCENDING, Menier Chocolate FactoryMay 16, 2019Theatr Clwyd's latest co-production with the Menier Chocolate Factory takes on Tennessee Williams' Orpheus Descending. Last seen in London at the Donmar Warehouse in 2000 starring Helen Mirren and directed by Nicholas Hytner, it's now presented by Tamara Harvey in slightly bizarre form.
BWW Review: COURTNEY ACT: UNDER THE COVERS, Underbelly FestivalMay 14, 2019Back in 2014, audiences stared rapt into their televisions as Courtney Act (aka Shane Jenek) debuted her flare and gorgeousness as one of the participants in RuPaul's Drag Race. They were already well known in their native Australia as they'd been the first queer contestant on reality tv but the competition turned Courtney into a worldwide star.
BWW Review: FEAST FROM THE EAST, Tristan Bates TheatreMay 10, 2019Over the past five years, INK have developed and produced over 150 new short plays by writers who have strong bonds with East Anglia. After showcasing them in their annual festival in Suffolk, they've taken their newest selection to London for the first time since their inception.
BWW Review: DON'T LOOK AWAY, Pleasance TheatreMay 9, 2019Adnan (Robert Hannouch) has just arrived in the UK from Syria. He escaped his home country and made his way across border after border penniless but with a burning desire for survival.
BWW Review: MISS JULIE, Jermyn Street TheatreMay 5, 2019Miss Julie returns to London wearing the outstanding threads previously seen in Tom Littler's production at Jermyn Street Theatre in 2017. The new run plays in rep with Creditors, the other August Strindberg-Howard Brenton endeavour presented by the company and acts as an echo chamber for the thematic veins of the other.
BWW Feature: Previewing New Musical THE HAPPY PRINCEMay 4, 2019On Friday 3 May, Wilde Theatre Productions presented Hal Cazalet and Michael Barry's collaboration for the first time in a showcase at The Place. The idea for The Happy Prince - their new musical based on Oscar Wilde's story of the same name - was born one evening in a pub in Buxton, where the two men were involved in different projects at the town's summer festival.
BWW Review: AVALANCHE: A LOVE STORY, BarbicanMay 3, 2019When a young love is re-lit when both parties are past their late 30s, a woman's objectives shift towards previously unexplored horizons. Her newborn desire to have a child nearly takes over her life. Written by novelist, screenwriter, and director Julia Leigh, Avalanche: A Love Story is directly inspired by her own experience with IVF treatments and presented by Anne-Louise Sarks as part of the Barbican's Fertility Fest. Maxine Peake takes on the role in the monologue, delivering an empathetic and emotional performance.
BWW Review: THE MURDER EXPRESS: JEWEL OF THE EMPIRE, Pedley Street StationMay 2, 2019It's 1937, the largest cut diamond is being transported by train from London to the French town of Murder amidst a crowd of socialites and odd characters who are travelling to the town in the south of Franch for different reasons. Suddenly, the jewel disappears from its stand and an investigation kicks off.
BWW Review: EDMOND DE BERGERAC, Richmond TheatreMay 1, 2019Edmond Rostand is a broke poet who's going through a seemingly endless writer's block. His plays are critical flops, his investors don't have any more patience nor money to waste on him, and his wife needs him to provide for their family. In an attempt to help his actor friend Leon charm young Jeanne, he starts penning letters under his name, getting more and more involved in the pretense and kicking off the idea for his 1897 masterpiece Cyrano de Bergerac.
BWW Review: CREDITORS, Jermyn Street TheatreApril 30, 2019Jermyn Street Theatre's latest co-production with Keswick's Theatre by the Lake is a new version of August Strindberg's Creditors directed by the theatre's own Tom Littler.
BWW Review: JANE CLEGG, Finborough TheatreApril 26, 2019In their venture rediscovering lost classic, Finborough Theatre brings back to the stage St John Ervine's Jane Clegg. The piece was first seen at the Gaiety Theatre in Manchester in 1913 and David Gilmore's new production in London is the first in 75 years.
BWW Review: DIARY OF AN EXPAT, Tristan Bates TheatreApril 25, 2019Cecilia Gragnani moved to London from Milan ten years ago with stars in her eyes, anticipating the vibrant world that would be spreading out in front of her once in the city. She was fascinated by the neatness of row after row of Victorian houses lining the streets and excited to start her new life as an Italian expat.
BWW Review: TUMULUS, Soho TheatreApril 19, 2019The corpse of a young man is found dead on the Tumulus on Hampstead Heath. Then, another one. Both are immediately linked to the city's chemsex scene but Anthony thinks something else is going on, so he sets off on a personal investigation that spans parties and intimacy in Christopher Adams' play.
BWW Review: TOAST, The Other PalaceApril 13, 2019The pretense begins as the audience walks into the auditorium. It's as the warm smell of perfect nearly-burnt toast hits their noses that the good-hearted and fluffy nature of Toast reveals itself. Based on Nigel Slater's homonymous memoir, Henry Filloux-Bennett's bakes a play with enough nostalgia and hopefulness to feed a crowd.
BWW Review: ROOMS, Barbican CentreApril 12, 2019The Barbican Centre's Silk Street Theatre has been transformed to host Enda Walsh's third piece in his programme. The stage becomes a dark universe where five huge white cubes hold different rooms. By stepping into them, the audience is transported in perfectly curated personal spaces.
BWW Review: DON'T YOU DARE!, Tristan Bates TheatreApril 11, 2019The Actors Centre and Voila! Theatre are currently hosting A Piece of the Continent at the Tristan Bates Theatre, a small three-week festival to celebrate European talent. Artist coming from all around Europe take their plays to London in a diverse and engaging program that spans all areas of experience.