Category Archives: Theatre
Theatre Review: Proud Haddock’s Julius Caesar
A few nights ago, I got to catch newbie production company Proud Haddock’s first ever show, a sold out performance of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar at Saatchi Gallery (the only time a play has ever been staged there). That was a one off. However, from early November the play will have a couple of weeks’ run at Chelsea Theatre about a mile or so farther down King’s Road. If the Chelsea Theatre run goes anything like the Saatchi Gallery premiere, audiences are in for a treat. Continue reading
Leicester Square Box Office: Your First Stop for the Best of London Theatre and More
For more than 20 years, Leicester Square Box Office has been offering tickets to the public for a variety of West End productions at half price, discount and full price to ensure customers find the tickets they’re after. Continue reading
The English National Opera does Puccini’s La bohème: 29 October to 14 December
One of the opera world’s favourite love stories and probably Puccini’s most celebrated work, La bohème returns this autumn to the London Coliseum with a “stylish and acclaimed production” inspired by photographs of the 1930s Paris Left Bank. A four-act … Continue reading
Theatre Review: Let the Right One In
Soon after its release to DVD, I saw (and loved) the original film version of the Swedish romantic horror story, Let the Right One In. What I enjoyed most about that movie was its moody tone and even moodier lighting. I don’t what it was like to watch in the cinema but it made for ideal at-home viewing. Newly adapted for the stage, LTROI is on now at the recently reopened Apollo Theatre (with refurbished ceiling) for a “strictly limited season” run. How does the stage adaptation compare to the movie and is it worth seeing? Well … Continue reading
Theatre Review: We are Proud to Present … Namibia, Bush Theatre
We are Proud to Present a Presentation about the Herero of Namibia, Formerly Known as Southwest Africa, from the German Sudwestafrika, Between the Years 1884 – 1915 may be an exhaustingly exhaustive title to say (and even type) but it’s an otherwise invigorating piece of work to see performed. Continue reading
London Celebrates Shakespeare’s 450th Birthday (CheapOair)
Guess who’s turning 450 this year? It’s William Shakespeare. With the subject matter and themes of his work ringing as true as ever before, The Bard’s his plays are still performed to sold out audiences around the globe – including … Continue reading
Theatre Review: The Golden Dragon at the Drayton Arms, SW5
Fancy a theatrical and thought provoking Thai/Chinese/Vietnamese takeaway? The Golden Dragon is a “dark modern tale of immigration” set in the kitchen of an East Asian restaurant as well as in the homes and businesses of some of its regular patrons. Just in time for Chinese New Year … German playwright Roland Schimmelpfennig’s one act exacting contemplation of globalisation is on for a (very) short run at South Kensington’s Drayton Arms pub theatre. Continue reading
Theatre Review: Orangutan Productions’ Othello at Riverside Studios
Now on at Riverside Studios, Orangutan Productions’ film noir take on Othello – Shakespeare’s tale of racism, love, jealousy and betrayal (and maybe in a word, paranoia) – engages and beguiles. I hit the press night staging of Othello: The Moor of Venice and found it a thoroughly enjoyable way to spend a ‘school night’ which yielded an evening’s worth of entertainment that I could easily recommend. Continue reading
Theatre Review: Richard III at Nottingham Playhouse
With only a week left in Nottingham before it moves on to York, here’s my review of the Nottingham Playhouse Theatre Company and York Theatre Royal’s joint presentation of Shakespeare’s tragic story of a conniving and paranoid king, Richard III. Continue reading
Haunted London Theatreland Walking Tour (CheapOair)
For a frightfully good time with more than a dash of showbiz pizazz consider joining in on one of the few upcoming “haunted” walking tours set inLondon’s famous Theatreland. The Official London Theatre’s Haunted Theatreland Walking Tour returns this fall … Continue reading
Give Thanks for a Great November in Houston! (CheapOair)
Planning a visit to Houston next month? Here’s a list of some of the more interesting events coming up on the Houstonian calendar to help you celebrate Thanksgiving in style and get ready for the run up to Christmas and New Years.
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Theatre Review: When Midnight Strikes, Upstairs at the Gatehouse
If you’ve ever been in a room with more than one Manhattanite, you’ll recognise the tone of this musical and the acerbic banter bounced between its characters. Indeed, I was half surprised for there not to be a sea of yellow cabs swarming the streets of Highgate as I left the Gatehouse pub humming after Friday night’s stellar performance of When Midnight Strikes. Continue reading
Review: Sincerely, Mr Toad at Greenwich Theatre
Last night I caught the London premiere of Sincerely, Mr Toad at the Greenwich Theatre. Having toured around the UK with a well received stint at this year’s Fringe, the new musical examines the life of The Wind in the Willows author Kenneth Grahame, his icy relationship with wife Elspeth and the tragic early death of their son Alastair – and how these and other factors shaped Grahame’s imagination and writing. Continue reading
Theatre Review: A Door Must Be Kept Open – or Shut at The Osborne Studio Gallery
A first time collaboration sees The Osborne Studio Gallery on tony Motcomb Street in Knightsbridge host a new and intimate production of Alfred de Musset’s 168 year old play, A Door Must Be Kept Open – or Shut. Musset’s sharp witted lines delivered bluntly in this aristocratic battle of the sexes are a delight to take in and seem to ring as true today as when this punchy one act play was penned nearly two centuries ago. Continue reading
Theatre Review: Dirty Market’s Oxbow Lakes
That was some seriously fucked up shit. And if you know me at all, then you know that by “fucked up shit” I mean you should totally check this out. Fancy a bit of creeped-out absurdity with your surrealist theatre? Oxbow Lakes is for you. Continue reading
Theatre Review: Ayndrilla Singharay’s Unsung at The Rosemary Branch Theatre
British-Bengali writer Ayndrilla Singharay’s premiere play Unsung re-imagines Rabindranath Tagore’s short story Punishment in a contemporary London setting. The result is effectual theatre for the audience and an especially impressive first attempt by Singharay. Continue reading
The Picture of Dorian Gray at “Dorian Gray’s Townhouse” in London (OneTravel)
Recently, I caught a performance of the Oscar Wilde classic The Picture of Dorian Gray. An immersive piece of theatre set in an actually lived-in Georgian townhouse, the play served as an excellent opportunity to enjoy a piece of great literature brought to life while getting to snoop around a bit in someone else’s home. If you’re planning to visit London before the end of September, this adaptation could prove a quirky and cultured item to your itinerary. Continue reading
Edfringe by @KemeyLafond
Here’s a participant’s perspective – with photos! – of this year’s Fringe from designer (and tikchris contributor) Kemey Lafond who shares insight from her first time working at Edinburgh’s world famous performing arts festival. Continue reading
A Midsummer’s Night Dream with David Walliams and Sheridan Smith
Magic, intrigue and an exceptionally twisty plot are the hallmarks of this romantic comedy that’s as relevant and timely today as when it was first performed during the Elizabethan era. As the Bard writes, “the course of true love never did run smooth.” Of course, that’s what makes the subject such a compelling theme for theatre. Continue reading
Immersive Theatre Review: The Picture of Dorian Gray at “Dorian Gray’s Townhouse”
Over the weekend, I caught a press night performance of The Alchemic Order’s production of the Oscar Wilde classic The Picture of Dorian Gray. An immersive piece of theatre set in an actually lived-in Georgian townhouse, the play served as an excellent opportunity to enjoy a piece of great literature brought to life while getting to snoop round a bit in someone else’s home. Continue reading
Theatre Sneak Preview: Sincerely, Mr Toad
Keith Jack (Any Dream Will Do Finalist, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat) leads a 12 strong cast in Sincerely, Mr Toad, a brand new musical from Sell A Door Theatre Company in association with Greenwich Theatre. The show explores the life of Kenneth Grahame, author of The Wind in the Willows, and looks at the tragic events that inspired the popular writer’s most famous work. Continue reading
The Commitments Hit the London Stage (CheapOair)
Everybody’s favourite Irish soul band, The Commitments, is coming to London with a new West End show adapted for the stage by Roddy Doyle, author of The Commitments, 25 years after his novel that inspired the hit 1991 movie was published. Continue reading
Theatre Review: Mandrake at the Brockley Jack
Adapting Machiavelli’s Mandrake (from ancient Florentine no less) for the English stage came across as effortless second nature for Howard Coyler. However, a brief chat with the playwright after I caught last night’s performance of the play suggested that Coyler actually did need to put some midnight oil along with plenty of head scratching into his London revival of this classic piece of Italian Renaissance entertainment. Continue reading
Theatre Preview: Mandrake at the Brockley Jack #MandrakePlay
Opening this week for a couple of weeks’ worth of shows at the Jack Studio Theatre in Brockley is Mandrake – a classic work by Machiavelli revived for the London stage for the first time in nearly 30 years. Adapted by playwright and novelist Howard Colyer and directed by Scott Le Crass, this significant piece of literature from the Italian Renaissance with a plot filled with lust, adultery, corruption and deceit should still hold its own with a modern audience and offer more than a few good laughs. Continue reading
Mandrake – Machiavelli’s Greatest Comedy – at the Brockley Jack Theatre
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Win Priceless Theatre Moments and Tix to The Olivier Awards with MasterCard
An active supporter of London theatre, MasterCard has teamed up with three of the world’s biggest musical productions with a campaign to share a few priceless moments with some very lucky theatre goers. The Priceless Theatre campaign gives fans a chance to … Continue reading