Editorial Staff 
The Miniaturist night at The Arcola Theatre is a wonderful evening of brand new short plays by some of the UK’s top young writing talent. But ultimately, the night does leave one wondering where and when these works might be performed again. If performed only on a night such as this, does that mean, as play texts, they can possibly stand alone?
Inigo is an ambitious biographical play, recounting the life of the saint who would one day be known throughout the Western Christian world as Ignatius of Loyola. It is a complicated story that writer and director Jonathan Moore nearly succeeds at telling. Unfortunately, aspects of the staging, script, and design let Inigo down.
The Separation, now at Theatre503, is a puzzle. Set on the eve of the Irish divorce referendum of 1995, the play confronts a real world, extremely difficult problem head on—what does divorce mean to the Irish family?
The UK, 2014, The Civil Partnership Act is ten years old, same-sex marriage passes into law, it is a criminal offence to stir up hatred against people on grounds of their sexual orientation. After years of struggle, the final stigmas are being removed. It is okay to be gay, being out isn’t an issue. And yet, homosexuality remains a taboo subject in English football. Not one of Britain’s 5,000 professional performers is openly gay. The national sport is leagues behind. To this day, not a single Premier League footballer has come out while in the game. In this climate, and in the wake of the World Cup, Hartshorn – Hook Productions and Working Progress Theatre Company have toured a visceral new play, tackling the issue of homophobia in the beautiful game. The show has been performed everywhere from London’s Jermyn Street Theatre to the Dublin Gay Theatre Festival, visiting The … Read more
The Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards 2014 were hosted on Tuesday at the Prince Of Wales Theatre, London. The Young Vic’s production of A View From The Bridge won two major awards including Best Director and Best Actor. As ever, the ceremony was an informal gathering of award recipients, the drama critics, theatre practitioners and the media, convivially coming together to celebrate the critics’ personal choice of the best theatre from throughout the UK during the last calendar year. Comedian Arthur Smith introduced proceedings with his own inimitable style, as has become a well-loved tradition. WINNERS Best New Play : King Charles III by Mike Bartlett Almeida Theatre, London, followed by transfer to Wyndham’s Theatre, London The Peter Hepple Award for Best Musical [new or revival] : Gypsy Festival Theatre, Chichester, followed by 2015 transfer to Savoy Theatre, London Best Actor : Mark Strong in A View from the Bridge Young … Read more
Reminiscent of the works of Ionesco, Trois Ruptures is a triptych of breakups—relationships that end for various reasons, exhaustion, latent homosexuality, and Twit-like hatred, all with varying levels of violent result.
Currently at the King’s Head Theatre, Diary of A Nobody is a wonderful mix of the best bits of Python-esque slapstick, multi-performances reminiscent of the Reduced Shakespeare Company, and an extremely tight design that only adds to the purposeful haphazard nature of the production.
Hot on the heels of the rumour that The Elephant Man starring Bradley Cooper is London bound this summer comes the report that casting notices for the London production of Kinky Boots have been released. The notice says that rehearsals are due to begin in July with first preview scheduled for August 21.2015. Kinky Boots has been a massive hit on Broadway and on tour in the USA. The show has a Tony award winning score by Cyndi Lauper, book by Tony Award winning writer Harvey Fierstein and is directed by Tony Award Winning director and choreographer Jerry Mitchell. Based on the British film of the same name, Kinky Boots is the story of Charlie Price who inherits the family shoe factory on his father’s death only to discover it is on the verge of bankruptcy. Looking for a solution Charlie finds Lola and a unique niche market he never … Read more
