In the pet stakes no animal comes remotely close to dogs; man’s best friend has become a fully-fledged member of the family. No longer bred for a purely functional purpose, dogs have assimilated human characteristics and a unique personality. This heavily socialised world of a canine is explored in The Noises, a story that concentrates on a dog called Luna, played by Lucy McAllister. Luna’s been a very naughty dog and is now locked in what appears to be the ...

A warm and poignant tribute to a great man

“What is your relationship to this man?” It’s a question that recurs through Tom Coash’s play, and it’s one that neatly keeps the focus on the two central characters. These are Nicholas (Marc Antolin), a British academic working in Egypt, and his native lover Mohammed (James El-Sharawy). His name having been “on a list” since some political cartoons in his student days drew him to the attention of the authorities, the play begins with Mohammed, newly released from police custody, ...

Social inequality is the theme that binds Killymuck and Box Clever together, a double bill of one woman shows at The Bunker. But there is so much else that links these shows. Both have powerful performances from their sole actor, exploring the lives of young women affected by the simple fact they were born into poverty and social inequality, and both are a mixture of laughter and seriousness as they try to present their topics in a way that will ...

Wolfie is a play that is surely destined for a longer life than its few weeks at Theatre503

A stunning cast and pitch-perfect delivery that’s full of clever ideas. This is an exemplar of Shakespearean theatre.

Sitting in a busy Jackson’s Lane auditorium five minutes in to Proteus Theatre’s Macbeth I was smiling, totally convinced by the setting and excited about what was to come. Presumably thanks to the involvement of movement consultant, George Mann, the opening was a tightly choreographed recreation of a 1980’s financial trading floor, full of wit and in-your-face charm. Twenty minutes in, however, an uneasy feeling was growing that the evening might have already peaked. By an hour in, impressive physical ...

Shakespeare’s tale of deceit and malice is not an easy one to stage. Even with an interesting re-contextualisation set in the British Raj in 1919, the production at the Union Theatre fails to fully own this mammoth play.  The ‘green-eyed monster’ and the quintessential Machiavellian baddie Iago provide enough juice, drama, and betrayal to make a real meal out of. But to enjoy a meal one needs cutlery (bear with me on this metaphor), and that would be the actors. ...

We Know Now Snowmen Exist takes its inspiration from real life, if very loosely. In 1959 nine people died during a trek in the Dyatlov Pass, Russia, in some very strange circumstances indeed. It’s an incident that has become so infamous that Dyatlov Pass is even named after the leader of the hike. It’s an incident that has been the source of myth and speculation ever since.  Writer Michael Spencer clearly loves a horror yarn, transferring the story from Russia to ...

“I am authentic Basildon, I am”, is the phrase with which we are welcomed to the regional premiere of In Basildon, the hit show by David Eldridge, that opened to critical acclaim at the Royal Court in 2012. Although the atmosphere of having this show performed to a local audience was electric, this production leaves a lot to be desired, outside occasional flashes of brilliance. The Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch is an impressive size, but Director Douglas Rintoul has made the ...