Nuclear Family
The Children
by Lucy Kirkwood
Putney Theatre Company at Putney Arts Theatre until 24th February
Review by Steve Mackrell
A plot which involves a retired couple of physicists and a disaster at a nearby nuclear power station are not subjects likely to inspire great enthusiasm for an evening of entertainment at the theatre. But the Putney Theatre Company’s production of The Children served up a fascinating play full of intelligence, comedy and challenging dramatic content.
This thought provoking and award-winning play, which opened at the Royal Court in 2016, was written by Lucy Kirkwood, whose other notable plays include Chimerica, NSFW and The Welkin.
Read more…Double or Quits?
The Circle
by W Somerset Maugham
Theatre Royal Bath Productions and the Orange Tree at Richmond Theatre until 24th February
Review by Mark Aspen
Do we learn from history? No, of course not. Can we learn from family history? Well, um, perhaps not. This second question is the premise of Somerset Maugham’s The Circle, written in 1921 in the reactionary aftermath of the Great War.
The term “dated” is annoying often applied to plays whose characters do not conform to today’s mores, which usually misses the point that these are works with much to teach today’s world. (Is Shakespeare dated? Is Aristophanes?) There is certainly much for today to learn in The Circle, including the inestimable value of marriage (from an author whose own short-lived marriage was almost a façade), and the multifarious emotions disguised in the word love.
Read more…Liminal Grecian Urnings
The Nethernauts
by Tom Kane
Morvern Productions at The White Bear, Kennington, until the 24th February
Review by Heather Moulson
A farcical voiceover is heard across a stage that is bare, save for an impressive cave and a lectern. Then there is genuine humour as a row breaks out in the wings about the absence of their speaker Anthony Essential, CEO of a Fortune 500 company, before the young rookie businessman Wristwatch is shoved into the spotlight.
Read more…Romp-Com
Pretty Woman, The Musical
by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance, book by Gary Marshall and JF Lawton
ATG Productions at the New Wimbledon Theatre, until 17th February, then on tour until 28th September
Review by Michelle Hood
Probably 99% of the audience entering the Wimbledon Theatre to see the musical version of Pretty Woman would have had a preconceived idea of what to expect – and, by the end, it seemed the majority were not disappointed in their expectations.
Pretty Woman, book by Gary Marshall and JF Lawton, is on a long UK tour with Wimbledon week sandwiched between dates in Hull and York. This is a slick and well-produced piece of musical theatre, providing audiences with a massive injection of light-hearted escapism. Nothing wrong with that, especially given the familiar storyline involving a rags-to-riches heroine. Some could argue whether such strong independent women of today really want to be swept off their feet by some passing billionaire, even with the added good looks of a Richard Gere type but, in the name of light entertainment, why not?
Read more…Alien Nation
The Boy at the Back of the Class
by Nick Ahad, based on the novel by Onjali Q Raúf
Rose Original and Children’s Theatre Partnership at the Rose Theatre, Kingston until 22nd February
Review by Thea Diamond
Nick Ahad’s adaptation of tween novel The Boy at the Back of the Class powerfully depicts the arrival of nine year-old refugee Ahmet and how he, his classmates and adults around him, navigate this complex and disorientating transition. Director, Monique Touko, interweaves themes such as friendship, camaraderie and acceptance into the complex tapestry of alienation, bullying and trauma, making this at times a roller coaster of emotions which is accessible to both the adults and children in the audience.
Read more…Fish and Slips
Ladies’ Day
by Amanda Whittington
BCP at the OSO Arts Centre, Barnes until 11th February
Review by Andrew Lawston
The commuters of South West London have long enjoyed a simple shared tradition. Every morning during Royal Ascot, we feel a quiet stab of envy at everyone taking the trains out to Ascot, decked out in all their finery. And every evening we share a quiet smile at the somewhat dishevelled state of those same racing enthusiasts as they weave their way homewards.
Amanda Whittington’s play Ladies’ Day goes some way to explaining what happens in the interim. Set in a Yorkshire fish processing plant in 2005, four women decide to go to Ladies’ Day at Royal Ascot (based in York that year), to mark Pearl leaving the factory – but not retiring, as she keeps insisting.
Over the course of a fast-paced two acts, Pearl, Shelley, Jan, and Linda gradually open up to each other about the secrets in their lives, while also crashing into shot on national television, coming very close to winning a life-changing jackpot, and consuming impressively copious amounts of wine and champagne.
Read more…Pursuit of Freedom
The Handmaid’s Tale
by Poul Ruders, libretto by Paul Bentley
English National Opera at the London Coliseum until 15th February
Review by Claire Alexander
‘Freedom to and freedom from. In the days of anarchy it was freedom to. Now you are being given freedom from. Don’t underrate it’. So says Aunt Lydia (boldly sung by Rachel Nicholls) in the early part of The Handmaid’s Tale.
When The Handmaid’s Tale was first published in 1985 ‘freedom to’ was perhaps at its zenith. There were regimes repressive against women at the time (especially in Iran) and pockets of fundamentalist ‘Christianity’ especially in some US States, but many western societies were beginning to live the life of sheer unfettered freedom. When Atwood’s book was republished and reimagined into the TV Series in 2017 perhaps things were beginning to come full circle – the Taliban was making its presence felt in Afghanistan, there were murmurings of extremist regimes, and early red flags of influencers like Andrew Tate. Covid and its restrictions were only three years off. Atwood’s book was prescient enough in 1985 but perhaps no surprise that the ideas it imagines have become more so and more real in recent times.
Read more…Keep Calm and Carry On
Panic – A Live Radio Musical
by Stephen Dolginoff
Teddington Theatre Club, at the Coward Studio, Hampton Hill Theatre until 3rd February
Review by Heather Moulson
The glamorous Evelyn mingles with the audience like a socialite at a cocktail party, as it draws them straight into the ambience of a pre-war recording studio, there to be charmed by men in smart suits and authentic American accents
The pace of the musical,Panic, skilfully directed by Wesley Henderson Roe, does not stop for breath as we witness a famous historical event, the more than convincing radio production of War of the Worlds that terrified America in 1938.
Read more…Wise Saws and Modern Instances
All the World’s a Stage
compiled by Anne Warrington
Poetry Performance at Hampton Hill Theatre, 28th January
Review by Ian Moone
A delightful evening of poetry and song was enjoyed by an enthusiastic audience at All the World’s a Stage, a one-off event to aid with much-needed fundraising for the continuing repair and maintenance of Hampton Hill’s much-loved community theatre. The performance was introduced by Lottie Walker (Chair of the Teddington Theatre Club), and showcased the works and talents of Poetry Performance, an Arts Richmond affiliated group consisting of local poets, singers and actors, who meet monthly at the Adelaide Pub in Teddington to share their works. The evening was compiled and produced by Anne Warrington and directed by Ken Mason – both also contributing to the evening with their own works.
The programme was divided into three sections, each examining theatre through different lenses. The first was a historical examination of theatre, focussing on some literary and theatrical heroes (Shakespeare and Chaucer), some theatrical villains (Oliver Cromwell and Panto!) and looked at the works of some of the shining lights of Variety and opera. The second section explored theatre tales, including some hilarious poetic anecdotes, poignant verse and entrancing song. The third and final segment explored the theatre of war, including some truly moving, sombre and thought-provoking pieces.
Read more…All That Glitters
Look Behind You
by Daniel Wain
Strut and Fret Theatre Company at the Theatre at the Tabard, Chiswick until 3rd February
Review by Heather Moulson
Who can resist an adult pantomime? (The promos warn, “Look Behind You contains lots of Pussy, Dick… and Nuts”!) Revived and updated from its earlier incarnation in 1999, and now with nice references to the powerful Tik-Tok, the updated revival gives further insights to a very traditional production genre, both onstage and offstage. Hiding under the greasepaint is a very strong drama.
A jaded professional theatre company is staging a well-worn panto Dick Whittington in the crumbling Britannia Theatre, culture centre of a rundown seaside town.
Read more…
Mark Aspen 