Far Away

Donmar Warehouse,
41 Earlham Street,
Seven Dials, London WC2H 9LX

Runs: 40 mins without interval
Review of perf seen Feb 13, 2020:

© Johan Persson, Abbiegail Mills as young Joan surveying Lizzie Clachan’s apparently comforting arcadian scene until she sees what really lies inside…

By now, Caryl Churchill has become synonymous with startling experimentation. Continue reading

Nora: A Doll’s House

Young Vic Theatre,
66 The Cut,
London SE1 8LZ
TICKETS: 020 7922 2922.
Runs: 1hr 45 mins without interval
Review of perf seen Feb 12, 2020:

© Marc Brenner, Anna Russell-Martin, Amaka Okafor, Natalie Klamar – the three Noras, walking into their house…

To those who know Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, Stef Smith and Glasgow Citz/Young Vic radical reworking will come as something of a shock. Continue reading

The Canary and the Crow

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

Review of perf seen Feb 3, 2020:

© The Other Richard, Daniel Ward (centre), with Rachel Barnes and Laurie Jamieson (cellos and actors) – marvellous multi-skilling…

There have been many plays about racism over the past half century but I don’t remember any that hit so hard, so fluently or so entertainingly as the Hull-based company, Middle Child’s The Canary and the Crow written by Daniel Ward. Continue reading

Persona

Riverside Studios, London ****
Runs: 90 mins no interval.
Box office: 020 8237 1010
www.riversidestudios.co.uk

Review of perf seen Jan 30, 2020:

© Pamela Raith, Alice Krige as Alma, Nobuhle Mngcwengi as Elizabet – the tables are turned from carer to be cared for…

There’s a sense of déjà vu about Persona launching a new era at Riverside Studios.

Six years after it closed for refurbishment, here is Riverside – once the home of an eclectic range of home grown and touring work, and run for a number of years with great elan by Peter Gill – back in business. Continue reading

Sex/Crime

Soho Theatre, London ****
21 Dean Street
London W1D 3NE
Runs: 60 mins no interval

Review of perf seen Jan 29, 2020:

© Matt Spike, Alexis Gregory and Jonny Woo tasting forbidden fruit before the Fall…

Audacious, sexy and stylish, Alexis Gregory’s Sex/Crime has arrived at Soho, finishing almost as soon as it has begun. No doubt this will not be the last it is seen. Rumours abound of further performances deservedly being planned over the pond. Continue reading

Beckett Triple Bill

Jermyn Street Theatre, London  ****
www.jermynstreettheatre.co.uk
Review: of perf seen January 17, 2020:

© Robert Workman, James Hayes in Krapp’s Last Tape, recalling a moment of bliss on a tape thirty years ago…another haunting…

Krapp’s Last Tape/Eh Joe/The Old Tune
By Samuel Beckett

Memories, decay and the voices that play in our heads. Beckett, the master of the interior monologue, that voice that never lets you still, waking or even sleeping. Continue reading