Operation Mincemeat: “Anything can happen, so strap in!”

Recently crowned winners of the Best Musical Production at the Off West End Awards, SpitLip are set to move their hit show Operation Mincemeat to the West End for a limited run this spring; they take over at the Fortune Theatre, following The Woman In Black‘s haunting 33-year run. Singin’ in the Rain meets Strangers on […]

Mind Full

What do you do if you can’t sleep? In pre-smartphone days, you had to make do with counting imaginary sheep, but now you have a whole host of apps designed to help you get over your insomnia. But what if your voiceover artist ex just so happens to be the narrator? In the latest play […]

SURFACING

From neurodiverse production company ASYLUM, comes SURFACING: a new play that combines theatre and technology to present the reality of mental health crises, but in a different light. It follows therapist Luc, as an appointment with potential new “service user” Owen doesn’t go according to plan; overwhelmed by feelings of guilt at letting him down, she […]

Hamlet (Lazarus Theatre)

What do you get if you remove the older generation from Hamlet? Lazarus Theatre’s new 90-minute production at Southwark Playhouse. The cast (dressed in identical jumpers & trackie bottoms) assemble in a circle and take orders from a disembodied voice (Micha Colombo), before introducing themselves and their character – to each other rather than the […]

Irrelevant

“Vivien fucking Leigh!” An opening statement that certainly makes its feelings clear, in Keith Merrill’s Irrelevant, now on at the Seven Dials Playhouse and starring stage & screen stalwart Debbie Chazen. It’s a 75-minute piece that charts the downfall of actor-turned-agent Millie Grable; she recounts her life story for a camera she’s set up in her […]

Misc. Mini-Reviews: Henry V / As You Like It

Initially I was going to write separate, full reviews for both of these – however, as I’ve left it a little while since watching Henry V and both of them are closing fairly soon I took the executive decision to clump them together here instead. Other than the fact that they are both Shakespeare plays (and […]

Out of 2022 – Into 2023

2022 followed in 2021’s wake, in that motivation continued to be lacking. Bizarrely, I had spurts of ambition and often planned a lot of things (& even started stuff), but then I just couldn’t follow it all through – #MindTheBand and #MindTheBard are two cases in point. I got some things written but it was like […]

Favourite shows 2022

You didn’t think I’d share my least favourite shows of the year and just leave it at that, did you? Obviously not. As well as continuing to follow Wuthering Heights across the country, and making regular appointments with Operation Mincemeat in its two 2022 homes, I managed to see 78 different shows (repeat visits – […]

Worst shows 2022

I hate to say it, but I’ve missed writing these. Since theatres first closed and then reopened, the standard of productions has been exceptionally high so there hasn’t been any call for a ‘worst of’ list. Though, as always, when I say ‘worst’ I really mean ‘least favourite’ – but that’s just less snappy. 2022 […]

#MindTheBaubles: round-up

As usual, things have slipped behind – despite a surprisingly efficient start… After my final two shows of the inaugural #MindTheBaubles last Thursday, I’ve been supplementing the week proper with a few more films, TV programmes, and podcast episodes just to bolster the resources. And – to be fair – I’ve been trying to fit […]