Mark Ludmon

Mark Ludmon has been a journalist for over 20 years, specialising in writing about theatre and the arts as well as bars, pubs and drink. He has been on the theatre judging panel for London’s Olivier Awards and has a masters degree in English literature, specialising in Elizabethan and Jacobean drama. He has an MA in theatre research, criticism and dramaturgy from the University of London’s Royal Central School of Speech & Drama. You can find him tweeting about theatre as @MarkLudmon and writing about theatre at markludmon.com.

REVIEW: For Reasons That Remain Unclear, King’s Head Theatre ✭✭✭

Reviews
For Reasons That Remain Unclear

Mark Ludmon reviews Mart Crowley’s play For Reasons That Remain Unclear now playing at the King’s Head Theatre. For Reasons That Remain Unclear King’s Head Theatre Three stars Book Now All is not as it initially seems in Mart Crowley’s play For Reasons That Remain Unclear which is having its European premiere at the King’s Head. A handsome, stylish young man, Patrick, brings an attractive older man, Conrad, back to his luxurious hotel room in the heart of Rome. There is sexual tension in the air, fuelled by subtle flirtation, but their reasons for being there together are clearly more than just a casual pick-up – signalled most portentously by Conrad being a Roman Catholic priest in his full cassock and collar. Over the space of an hour and a half within the claustrophobic confines of Patrick’s hotel room, the two learn about each other and a past that connects … Read more

Edinburgh Fringe – New Musical Theatre Preview

Edinburgh Fringe, Features, News
A Very Brexit Musical Edinburgh Fringe

From satirical revues and Scottish song to shows tackling challenging, sensitive subjects, Edinburgh Fringe is a place to seek out exciting new musicals. In answer to your first question, yes, there is a musical about Brexit. Students from the University Of Cambridge are presenting the “all-singing, all-dancing political extravaganza” A Very Brexit Musical by Molly Cook and Anthony Gray, built around a “Maily Dail” journalist drawn into the world of “Joris Bohnson” and “Cavid Dameron” around the EU referendum. It runs from 2 to 26 August at La Belle Angele Just The Tonic. And it’s yes to your next question too: there is a musical about Donald Trump. In fact there are two. Returning after last year’s success is the “all-singing, all-dancing musical journey” Trump’d at C in Chambers Street from 1 to 27 August. New for 2018 is Trump the Musical from Blowfish Theatre who brought us Boris the … Read more

Edinburgh Fringe Preview Part Two

Edinburgh Fringe, Features, News
Edinburgh Fringe Preview Musicals

Mark Ludmon picks out some of the new writing highlights at the 2018 Edinburgh Festival Fringe This year’s Edinburgh Fringe offers an incredible choice of new writing, including many world premieres. Alongside the powerhouse of the Traverse Theatre, venues such as Summerhall have now established a reputation for exciting new theatre, especially with the return of Paines Plough’s Roundabout space. But don’t always follow the crowd: there are plays by new writers being staged across the city, giving you a chance to catch new and emerging talent. The Fishermen Having its world premiere at Home in Manchester in July, this new play is an adaptation of Chigozie Obioma’s Man Booker prize-shortlisted novel by Fringe First-winning playwright Gbolahan Obisesan. Presented by Nottingham-based theatre company New Perspectives, it is an allegory of brotherhood, vengeance and fate about four brothers in a small Nigerian town whose lives are changed forever. The cast includes Michael Ajao … Read more