Everything Theatre Reviews, interviews and news for theatre lovers, London and beyond

Pros: A versatile cast, clever props and a well-rounded piece that delivers lots of humour alongside the take-home message. The cast and crew should be proud. Cons: None. Loneliness is a hot topic that can leave you out in the cold. We’ve known for decades that it affects the elderly, but the media has only discussed loneliness in millennials and upwards in the last few years. Carrie, the protagonist of When the Friendship Has Sailed, has a goldfish to talk ...

Pros: Well written, well thought out script. It deals with serious and relevant issues faced in today’s society. Cons: The pace is slow and monotonous in some areas. Extra detail could have been paid to direction in the first half of the play, as there sometimes seemed to be no justification for some of the characters’ actions and movements. In The Wake Of, by Michael Black, is a new play by Faded Ink Productions. It tells the story of Rob (Mickey ...

Pros: A moving and well-constructed piece of storytelling, with the most unexpectedly beautiful  ending. Cons:  There were issues of visibility when Welsh performed at ground level. Adam Welsh thinks his dad is disappointed in him, and it’s easy to see why he thinks he might not have lived up to his dad’s high hopes.  A quick Google search of his name demonstrates that maybe he hasn’t been as successful as his dad would have hoped. In fact Google brings up endless results for ...

Pros: The fin-de-siècle atmosphere generated by a superb combination of production elements. Cons: The raked stalls tend to obstruct Salvi’s flamboyant interaction with the audience. Often typecast in the role of a mad woman, Royal Academy of Music graduate Monica Salvi started to develop a strange sympathy for her characters, which eventually led to a nervous breakdown. Now safely locked away in a mental asylum, she makes the most of her recreational hour by introducing her fellow inmates to the ...

Pros: Simon Evans’s close-up magic tricks are brilliant. Cons: Those who are led to believe that there will be a vanishing act performed on stage might feel disappointed. Drawing from the life of Edwardian magician Hugo Cedar, theatre veterans Simon Evans and David Aula try to deconstruct on stage with The Vanishing Man the greatest magic trick ever performed and never revealed. In the early morning of June 20th 1930, Cedar stood silent and motionless on London Bridge for over ...

Pros: Fascinating glimpse of real-life misogynists Cons: The narrative is not always convincing A large projection screen in this cavernous venue scrolls through cherry-picked Twitter tweets of anti-feminist whinges. It’s an effective – if rather un-nuanced – way for writer Penelope Skinner to set out the stall of her latest play: as the ancient patriarchy starts to crumble, some men are biting back in a desperate attempt to perpetuate the status quo. The show stars Donald Sage Mackay (Skinner’s real-life ...

Pro’s: Two exceptional Caryl Churchill scripts Con’s: Committed but inexperienced actors With thousands of shows competing to make an impact in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, it’s a bold move for a student ensemble to dive into the fray, pitching their production up against veterans and professionals. The young players of the University of Greenwich’s Bathway Theatre Company deserve kudos for taking the plunge with a pair of challenging Caryl Churchill plays. They realise this project with no shortage of commitment ...

As 'There but for the grace of God (go I)' debuts at Soho Theatre, solo performer Adam Welsh shares more about the family dynamics behind the piece – and why we bother going to the theatre at all.

Pros: A refreshingly strong storyline for a musical, with superb attention to detail and an excellent score. Cons: Although tuneful and pleasant, there are no real stand-out hit songs to make this production a truly great musical. The air conditioning was happily in full effect at the Theatre Royal Haymarket as I took my seat for the premiere of Broken Wings. Launching a new musical is always a calculated risk but the producers pull it off with relative ease in ...

Pros: Jaw-dropping acrobatics Cons: Turgid music and relentless po-faces sapped the energy I went to see My Land on a word-of-mouth recommendation, and I’m really glad I did. The seven performers of Hungarian company Recirquel were awe inspiring. In the opening solo a figure clad in rags floated languidly into a one-armed handstand, then tilted over to one side, his sacrum swinging like a slow-motion pendulum. The skills were consistently breath-taking: an audacious duet by acrobat twins created a beautiful ...