Snapshots and Perspectives
India Gate
by Howard Shepherdson, in collaboration with Tajinder Sindra
The Questors Theatre and Punjabi Theatre Academy at the Judi Dench Playhouse, Ealing until 7th May, then on UK and international tour.
Review by Mark Aspen
For well over four hundred years the history of India and Britain has been inextricably linked. This year marks the seventy-fifth anniversary of India achieving independence as a sovereign country, and it is apposite that two local production companies should collaborate to commemorate the occasion with the premiere of India Gate. Each partner has brought its own expertise and the play has a ringing authenticity, indeed much of the dialogue is in Punjabi.
During those four centuries India has become a unified country and now is powerful and influential in its own right. However, the relationship between Britain and India has not always gone smoothly. India Gate concentrates on two periods of history, the massacre at the Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar in the Punjab in April 1919 and the events leading up to Indian Independence Day in August 1947. The story is told largely through the eyes of two people, Lady Emily Lutyens, recalcitrant wife of the famous architect Sir Edwin Lutyens; and Udham Singh, a Sikh zealot, who became an assassin.
Read more…All Things Considered
The Misfortune of the English
by Pamela Carter
Orange Tree Theatre Productions at the Orange Tree Theatre Richmond until 28th May UK première
Review by Andrew Lawston
Three schoolboys bound on to the Orange Tree’s stage, full of vigour and exuberance. One of them disdainfully removes a health and safety sign from the centre of the stage, and they proceed to tell the audience about their walking holiday in Germany. Twenty-seven children and one teacher, who is clearly idolised by his pupils.
Schoolboy banter is largely timeless, and school uniforms don’t tend to change much either, so it takes a while before the truth of the trip sinks in. The school trip is taking place in 1936, in Nazi Germany, just before Adolf Hitler’s birthday.
And as they narrate the start of their walk from Freiburg, and the first references are made to rain, storms, and sleet, it becomes clear that this is not the carefree stroll in the woods that the boys are anticipating.
Read more…Platonic Relationship
Rebel Without a Cause
by James Fuller, based on the screenplay by Stewart Stern
YAT at Hampton Hill Theatre until 30th April
Review by Celia Bard
Thoughts running through my head as I entered the Hampton Hill Theatre auditorium to watch Rebel Without A Cause was how a theatre production of the play would stand up to the iconic film of the same title shown in the 1950s, a film I still remember with much affection. Any concerns I had soon disappeared as I sat to watch events unfold just metres away from where I was sitting. The atmosphere of the theatre, combined with the minimal set, dimmed lighting and large screen projections, all created an enthralling and tense theatre experience.
Read more…Comfort Zones
Sheila’s Island
by Tim Firth
Yvonne Arnaud Theatre at Richmond Theatre until 30th April, then on tour until 14th May
Review by Daniel Wain
Billed as a “sparkling, sharp-witted new comedy akin to The Office meets Lord of the Flies meets Miranda”, this “world premiere production” is actually a rewrite of Tim Firth’s three-decade-old hit Neville’s Island. The idea of making an all-female version of the original came from Joanna Read, director of Sheila’s Island and Chief Executive of the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford, where this production originally premiered back in February.
Read more…Ripper Gripper
The Incident Room
by Olivia Hirst and David Byrne
OHADS at Hampton Hill Theatre until 23rd April
Review by Andrew Lawston
Hampton Hill’s studio theatre has been taken back to the late 1970s. Desks are covered with typewriters, wireless radios, and rotary dial telephones. Female police officers are a novelty. And there are cardboard boxes everywhere. As Life on Mars famously asked: are we mad, in a coma, or back in time?
This new production of The Incident Room by Olivia Hirst and David Byrne recreates the increasingly desperate attempts by West Yorkshire Police to track down the so-called Yorkshire Ripper. We are first presented with the conclusion of the case. An arrest has been made, and Megan Winterburn and Dick Holland pack up the eponymous incident room that has dedicated years to processing the vast quantities of reports, statements, and leads connected to the case. Despite Holland’s advice to put the case behind her, Winterburn reflects on the past few years and we flashback to 1976, with a new team assembled.
Read more…Circadian Rhythms
Deluxe
Ripple
by Xie Xin with music by Jiang Shaofeng
Bradley 4:18
by Maxine Doyle with music by Cassie Kinoshi
The BalletBoyz, at Richmond Theatre, until 19th April, then on tour until 19th May
Review by Patrick Shorrock
How much is life back to normal after the easing of restrictions is a particularly acute question for theatres and touring companies. From the audience’s perspective, in many ways, it feels like it really is with no more than an eighth of the audience now wearing masks, on this Easter Bank Holiday Monday. A large, but not completely packed, house enthusiastically applauds BalletBoyz’s show Deluxe and is clearly glad to see the Boyz back in business.
Read more…Now I’m a Believer!
Shrek, the Musical
by Jeanine Tesori, lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire
TOPS Musical Theatre Company at Hampton Hill Theatre until 16th April
Review by Thea Diamond
It was with a fair degree of scepticism that I approached the opening night of Shrek the Musical. After having watched DreamWorks quartet of films countless times, as any parents with a Netflix account and time to kill on a rainy weekend can relate to, I was doubting how such integral elements of the story such as the RuPaul’s Drag Race glammed-up dragon in her lava-encased keep would translate onto the stage at Hampton Hill. Not only this, the completely underwhelming Broadway production that’s available to view for free on YouTube felt like a failed attempt at converting this well-loved progressive fairy tale to the musical theatre format, but with, at times grating, imitations of the celebrity voice cast and the unfortunate loss of its impeccable popular song choices.
It is a complete understatement to say that I’m now a complete convert after experiencing TOPS’ show stopping production! I was quite honestly taken aback at the sheer scale and size of this undertaking. With 47 cast members under the skilful direction of TJ Lloyd, we were swept away by a fast-moving musical and dance extravaganza. What an achievement to pull this off! Originally due to premiere just a month before a certain global pandemic struck, a second attempt in 2021, and with third time lucky, I’m not exaggerating to say it’s nothing short of a miracle that all cast members were singing and dancing tonight without anyone succumbing to the most recent wave of Omnicom sweeping the capital.
Read more…Crisp Biscuits
Tapped
by Katie Redford
Theatre 503 and Bethany Cooper Productions at Theatre 503, Battersea until 23rd April
Review by Gill Martin
Dawn is an unfulfilled, long-married mum with petulant daughter Jen going nowhere. Gavi is a kindly Co-op colleague with his own baggage but with a determination to change all their lives with Club biscuits, motivational mantras and positive visualisation.
And all this can be achieved in a bleak, grey space that is his garage.
The set of Tapped, a debut stage play by the acclaimed actor and writer Katie Redford, is symbolic of their monochromatic, dull, closed-in lives.
Read more…The Moosetrap
Catch Me If You Can
by Jack Weinstock and Willie Gilbert
Bill Kenwright Productions at Richmond Theatre until 16th April, then on tour until 3rd July
Review by Andrew Lawston
Billed as a psychological thriller, Jack Weinstock and Willie Gilbert’s play Catch Me If You Can, based on a French play by Robert Thomas, has a darkly comic streak that runs from the opening moments through to the final curtain. But rather than being any kind of parody, the humour arises from the tense and unusual situation, as well as from the dry wisecracks of Inspector Levine, the exasperated detective charged with recovering Mrs Corban.
The whole play unfolds in the house in the mountains, a tasteful design by Julie Godfrey which evokes a luxurious 1960s setting, without pandering to clichés – reminiscent of the murderers’ homes in early episodes of Columbo. With the first half set in the evening, and the second half the following morning, Chris Davey’s lighting is suitably simple, but completely effective.
Elizabeth Corban is missing. Following a squabble with her new husband, advertising executive Daniel Corban, she has left the remote house in New York’s Catskill Mountains, in which they were honeymooning. After several days with no news, Daniel frets, and worries, and puts up hopeful signs welcoming her home, which he hangs from a giant moose head that hangs over the comfortable property’s fireplace.
Read more…To Pluck Bright Honour
King Henry IV, Parts One and Two
by William Shakespeare
Richmond Shakespeare Society at the Mary Wallace Theatre, Twickenham until 23rd April
Review by Celia Bard
The RSS must be congratulated for mounting what must be considered a hugely challenging production for directors and cast alike. When deciding to attend both productions on the same day, I feared it might be an endurance test. Not so, for I was very soon drawn into this gripping historical tale of power, honour and rebellion that is the essence of Part I. In King Henry IV part II the emphasis shifts to the burden of power, old age and atonement. I would suggest, if possible, that any prospective audience member try and see Part I before seeing Part II. For me, the latter seems more an afterthought, and if not familiar with these plays, despite the prologue, characters and events might be confusing.
Read more…
Mark Aspen 