Tag Archives: Verbatim theatre

Until the Flood

Arcola Theatre, London ****
Runs: 1hr 10 mins without interval
Box Office:  020 7503 1646
Online: www.arcolatheatre.com

© Alex Brenner, remembering Michael Brown...

© Alex Brenner, remembering Michael Brown…

Review of perf seen Sept 20, 2019:

When it comes to capturing the soul of a nation, America can certainly field some big hitters.

Last year it was the mother of verbatim theatre, Anna Deveare Smith who appeared briefly in London with Notes from the Field, a searing, intense investigation into discrimination seen through the penal and education systems – the disproportionate number of African-Americans in prison, excluded from schools and shot by police.  Continue reading

Notes From the Field

Royal Court Jerwood Theatre Downstairs, London *****

© Joan Marcus, Anna Deavere Smith

© Joan Marcus, Anna Deavere Smith

Sometimes you just know you’ve seen the experience of a lifetime.

Twenty five years ago, Anna Deavere Smith came to London with a heart-felt, revealing portrait of New York tensions between the Jewish and Afro-American communities. She was a force to be reckoned with then, pioneering a form of theatre based in verbatim reports but energised by performance. Continue reading

Chilcot

Battersea Arts Centre, London (****)

© Joe Twigg, Chilcot Enquiry in session

© Joe Twigg, Chilcot Enquiry in session

With The Chilcot Report to be published in just over a month’s time, Lung Theatre have got in early with this tribunal staged event a la Nick Kent’s Tricycle hearings. Continue reading