I dress up as Jane Austen to escape the hell of modern societyEach year I'm one of thousands who don a bonnet and experience a taste of the author's world first hand Dec 16 24December 16, 2024Article at inews
The secrets of the blockbuster immersive show no-one is allowed to talk aboutThe creators of Olivier Award-nominated 'You Me Bum Bum Train' discuss their latest offering with one of this year's volunteers Nov 25 24November 25, 2024Article at inews
I’m a critic. Here’s what I learned trying to get my first play stagedDespite a decade’s experience as a theatre journalist, nothing prepared me for the daunting reality of getting a piece of new writing staged The first professional theatre review I ever wrote, in 2011, took me four hours – and it wasn’t very good.… Mar 13 24March 13, 2024Article at The Stage
Winner’s Curse: Clive Anderson takes on acting and the art of negotiationAfter a career in broadcasting, Clive Anderson is taking on his first acting role. He and writer Daniel Taub – a former diplomat – tell Emily Jupp how the play will challenge both actor and audience as they are immersed in a live peace process… Feb 10 23February 10, 2023Article at The Stage
I came to the UK illegally in the back of a lorry – now I’m an actor and this play tells my storyAt just 11, Dritan Kastrati made the perilous journey from Kosovo with the help of people smugglers - and his troubles were just beginning In 2002, Dritan Kastrati was smuggled across Europe, aged just 11. It was after the end of the war in Kosovo… Feb 09 23February 09, 2023Article at inews
What it’s like looking for sex and romance when you’re young, disabled and gayThe campaigner Josh Hepple, who has cerebral palsy, has inspired an award-winning play. He explains how dating works for him Josh Hepple sits in his wheelchair, legs crossed, and tells me he’s nervous about our interview. The disability and LGBTQI+… Jan 28 23January 28, 2023Article at inews
Harry’s Christmas reviewFirst seen at the Donmar in 1985, Steven Berkoff’s dark one-man play about loneliness and isolation is perhaps even more relevant now. The UK was enduring a loneliness epidemic even before lockdown made isolation practically mandatory. Now, with… Dec 09 22December 09, 2022Article at The Stage
Make Mine a Double review: Press/TunnelsThe second of Park Theatre’s new-writing double bills features two very different shows that both expose the dark side of humanity and examine how we respond to extreme pressure. Does the habitually good person crumble and commit an evil act? Can the… Dec 01 22December 01, 2022Article at The Stage
The Massive Tragedy of Madame Bovary! reviewIn this Christmas twist on Gustave Flaubert’s classic, tragic heroine Emma Bovary’s existential longing and illicit affairs become fodder for a comical romp. When Flaubert’s tale was first published in France in 1856, the author was prosecuted for… Nov 23 22November 23, 2022Article at The Stage
Noor reviewNoor-un-Nisa Inayat Khan was the first female undercover wireless operator to be sent from the UK into occupied France during the Second World War, under the codename Madeleine. She was a pacifist, a Sufi Muslim, a storyteller, and a descendant of… Nov 09 22November 09, 2022Article at The Stage
Tim Supple: ‘I have deeply re-engaged with the UK and London, and that’s gorgeous’The internationally acclaimed director, known for running the Young Vic and later his global Shakespeare adaptations, tells Emily Jupp about returning to the UK ahead of his new project at the Marylebone Theatre – Dmitry, a play based on Schiller’s… Sep 27 22September 27, 2022Article at The Stage
Rehab: the Musical reviewGrant Black – son of veteran lyricist Don Black and collaborator with Craig David, Van Morrison and Run DMC – had his own experience of checking into rehab 30 years ago, after a messy divorce and a taste for cocaine took their toll. This 1990s-set… Sep 08 22September 08, 2022Article at The Stage
Follow the Signs reviewFresh mix of hip hop and British Sign Language in need of tightening up Chris Fonseca is a Deaf dancer and choreographer who teaches dance to the Deaf community. When he performed on the BBC’s The Greatest Dancer, demonstrating how he feels the… Aug 26 22August 26, 2022Article at The Stage
Richard Coyle“In 2022 the Gregory Peck Atticus doesn’t work” Whether on stage or screen, the actor’s versatility has served him well in a successful and varied career. He tells Emily Jupp about not taking the path of easiest resistance into acting, why he likes… Aug 25 22August 25, 2022Article at The Stage
Fat Chance reviewRachel Stockdale in Fat Chance at Pleasance Dome, Edinburgh One-woman show about overcoming fatphobia and working-class prejudices in the performance industry Born in Middlesbrough and living in Newcastle, when performer Rachel Stockdale was… Aug 17 22August 17, 2022Article at The Stage
Receptionists reviewKristiina Tammisalo and Inga Björn in Receptionists at Summerhall, Edinburgh. Photo: Bambu Part of From Start to Finnish, the annual Edinburgh Fringe showcase of Finland’s performing arts, Receptionists stars Kallo Collective’s Inga Björn and… Aug 16 22August 16, 2022Article at The Stage
The Unicorn reviewGeorgina Fairbanks in The Unicorn. Photo: Michael Shelford Sam Potter’s new one-woman play about female sex addiction and sex clubs is uneven but enthralling Andrea is let go from her job, with a significant payout, after accusing her boss of… Aug 16 22August 16, 2022Article at The Stage
Musclebound reviewEntertaining narrative about women’s sexuality and 1980s muscle men that packs in the puns Musclebound is about writer-performer and fringe veteran Rosy Carrick’s fetish for muscular men being beaten up, first sparked at the age of five when she… Aug 15 22August 15, 2022Article at The Stage
Headcase reviewA personal portrait of living with someone with a severe brain injury, told with humour and warmth As writer-performer Kristin Mcilquham nears her 40th birthday, she begins to consider the impact of her father’s traumatic brain injury – sustained… Aug 15 22August 15, 2022Article at The Stage
MOTHERLOAD! reviewElena Voce in MOTHERLOAD! at Summerhall, Edinburgh. Photo: Thomas Voce-Siriani On a ridiculously hot day in Edinburgh, in a dark, stifling lecture theatre, an anthropomorphised Mother Nature, conceived as an American bag lady with an oxygen tube, is… Aug 11 22August 11, 2022Article at The Stage
