Louise Penn - Page 2

John Haidar’s production of Hamlet ... is a briskly modern piece which fizzes with primal urges, adding a new lens to a a familiar text. Very accessible to those new to the play, and a thoughtful treatment for those who know the plot well, this Hamlet is a 'palpable hit'.

Creature is a fascinating experiment, but requires a familiarity with both pieces of source material and a constant attention to what is going on in the story. This may ultimately isolate the audience from full enjoyment. It has much to say on experimentation and torture, but doesn’t quite make the connection we need to feel involved and engaged.

Returning to London with their double bill, Pioneers, Ballet Black continue to enhance their reputation as Britain’s most diverse and daring ballet company.  

Familie Flöz are back in London for the first time in over a decade, with their fifth visit the London International Mime Festival, and their mask storytelling keeps its noted style and substance.  Feste is a fairy tale for adults which is both amusing and poignant, with Familie Flöz’s special blend of cutting glances and political commentary.

How did a low-budget sci-fi film, made in less than a week, become one of America's most beloved cult musicals? Adam Abraham's meticulously researched book reveals the story behind Little Shop of Horrors, from the initial idea to the choice of cast and creative team.

It is fast approaching Christmas, and we are well into panto season - so what better time to settle down at home to watch one of children's television's greats in full creative mode? The latest digital festive treat from Panto Online and Peter Duncan is named Pantoland, with stories, characters, and silliness enough to go around.

Grey Man is a fascinating piece of digital theatre, a drama in storytelling, which by the end feels like an elaborate deception to scare the soul. Writer Lulu Raczka has created a play which is strange, familial, and downright weird.

There's no place like Paris, so welcome to my world of opera'. So says Renée Fleming, when introducing this film on the city which invented the word 'connoisseur'.

There is a sense of anticipation in the air as we take our seats for Black Love, which comes to the Kiln for a strictly limited run this month. As Aurora (Nicholle Cherrie) slinks into the stage set of white boxes, surrounded on all sides by the audience, she brings with her a stylised version of which 'black love' might be.

A revival of Bruce Norris’s biting satire Clybourne Park still feels relevant today to questions of racial tension and gentrification. 

As Bobby becomes engulfed by misunderstandings and misgivings, the script delights in lavender-tinged jokes, a wise ‘trollop,’ and a pair of would-be suitors from Free France and the United States. Farce is hard to get right, but the comings and goings, double-takes and cheeky dialogue are all on point. A cast of seven boasts no weak links and an excellent sense of timing. Four actors return from the successful 2019 run at the same venue and clearly relish the opportunity to come back to this feast of fun.

Returning to London after more than a decade, and a few false starts, Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman’s musical is, to quote the closing number of act one, “big, blonde, and beautiful”. 

Toni's life is about to change on a sunny day in East London. Issues of memory, identity and shadows of the past are explored in this one-woman show featuring Georgie Henley.

Two men meet at a funeral in Lolita Chakrabarti's intense and uncompromising new play, which proves a lively yet thoughtful piece on family and friendship and features her husband, Adrian Lester, in the cast.

In a season of numerous versions of A Christmas Carol, modern or traditional, musical or dramatic, streamed or live, with puppets or people, this production from the Guildford Shakespeare Company and Jermyn Street Theatre is a welcome addition to festivities.

It is refreshing to see the Almeida come back with something a little different: a play with songs about loss and connection. Co-created by Chris Bush, Rebecca Frecknall, and the six-strong cast, Nine Lessons and Carols is far from your cosy festive treat, instead opting to address situations with black comedy and an air of gloom. 

There have been many theatre productions made available during the pandemic lockdown in the UK, while stages have been quiet and venues closed. We take a look at some of the highlights you may have missed online over the past few months.

15 Heroines is a major new digital project by Jermyn Street Theatre in collaboration with Digital Theatre Plus. Taking Ovid’s Heroides as inspiration they reach back across thousands of years and into the cultures of the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and Africa, the heroines are rehabilitated and placed in a modern setting.

Next month Jermyn Street Theatre, the smallest producing house in the West End, celebrates 15 Heroines in a series of monologues written and performed by female and non-binary creatives. We asked the theatre's Artistic Director (and co-director of the plays) Tom Littler to tell us more.

Presented by Defibrillator, in conjunction with The Actors' Centre, Gemma Lawrence's new play Sunnymead Court is a two-hander tale for our times. When Marie, thin, nervy, introverted, states she dreams of becoming a brain in a jar without the burden of a physical body, we know she will have problems reaching out for real contact. A regular piece of music she plays brings Stella, a confident and ongoing person who just wants to get sweaty again dancing with her mates.