Reviews

“Contemporary, bold and inventive, a beautifully written piece about a pressing subject.” ★★★★ As more people live into old age, their care often brings an array of emotional, ethical, moral and financial decisions for families. The UK premier of Black Swans by German playwright, Christina Kettering, translated from the original language by Pauline Wick, grapples with these issues in a play that is contemporary, bold and inventive. Arranged in the traverse theatre of the Omnibus, a few white blocks are positioned on the gleaming white floor. The stark, minimal set is offset with an atmospheric and ethereal sound design by composer Jovana Backovic. We could be in any country and this could be any family. This simplicity of direction permits audiences to enter the story fully and hear every word of this beautifully written drama (I hour, 10 with no interval) which moves effortlessly from past to present while inhabiting a future space. Two sisters address the audience directly and each other. One is independent and “carefree”, the other juggles multiple responsibilities. Their elderly mother requires increasing attention but the idea of sending her to a “facility” even one “painted apricot, a 'kind' colour” is less appealing after they pay a visit and find a stupefied community of elders, zonked out on the senior version of Calpol. So, it is agreed the busier sister will look after her mother in her own family home. It’s not long before this additional caring responsibility starts to impact on her mental health and life, so her sibling, observing from afar and skilled at delegation, has the idea to introduce a state-of-the-art AI caregiver, a robot who can do everything perfectly. The robot, a virtuous creation called Rosie, never tires or complains. Rosie and mother dance and sing together. Mother’s hair is perfect again, she puts on weight and smiles. This humanoid robot is like a gift from the sci-fi heavens. What could possibly go wrong? Produced by the Hackney-based theatre company Foreign Affairs, this UK premiere of Black Swans which means 'a highly unusual event’ in German, stars the two co-artistic directors, Camila França and Trine Garrett. We are more used to seeing their creative talents offstage such as in their excellent adaptation of Wetsuitman (2022 & 2023) But here, the duo return to their performing roots in a story that asks pertinent questions about the role of technology in our lives while being a family story that will resonate with many. Black Swans was first performed at the Theatre Heilbronn in 2021 after it won first prize at the Science & Theatre Festival. It was then performed at the Dome, Germany’s largest science centre. Translated into four languages, it was most recently performed in February 2024 in French in Québec, Canada and this run at the Omnibus is its UK premier. In a year when AI has been top of the agenda and a constant topic of debate, this presentation of Black Swans could not be more timely. A series of discussions runs alongside this run of Black Swans. On May 2nd, there will be a post-show talk with academics and NHS workers to explore AI, Robotics and Healthcare. Photography: Tim Morozzo Foreign Affairs present BLACK SWANS by Christina Kettering at Omnibus 23 April – 11 May 2024 Directed by Ria Samarti. show talks: Thu 25 April and Thu 2 May Networking event: Fri 3 May (industry) Theatre Salon: Sun 5 May Length: Approx. 1 hour 10 minutes (no interval) Tickets: £18 standard, £16 concessions Age guidance: 14+ Ticket office: https://bit.ly/BlackSwans24Tix Reviewed by Nilgin Yusuf

“Will either chill you to the bone or leave you cold” ★★ ½ Written by Bryony Lavery in 1998, this celebrated study of the banality of evil, a story of child abuse, survival and redemption is definitely not that Disney production with the same name. At 2 hours, 30 mins with a much needed and well-positioned interval, this dark and distressing play will leave you feeling like you need a good shower. Perhaps, one of the toughest subject matters to deal with, being exposed to such anguish and depravity is not easy in the intimacy of a theatre. The first half of Frozen is primarily a series of monologues. We understand a 10-year-old girl, Rhona is missing. Her mother, Nancy convincingly played by Kerrie Taylor has sent the little girl to her grandmother just like Little Red Riding Hood, a figure who later appears in a child pornography video collection. We quickly meet her damaged and creepy killer, Ralph with his foul language and malign designs, “I think she liked me.” The stressed criminal psychologist, Agnetha (Indra Ove) has flown in from the States to begin her assessment and arrives with more than her hand baggage. Can Nancy ever forgive her child’s killer? Can Agnetha ever understand him? Or herself? Can the child catcher feel remorse? Is he mentally ill or rotten to the core? The play breaks just before a restorative justice meeting, an unexpected exchange where the mother, now ready to forgive the killer of her daughter, inadvertently triggers Ralph by sharing family photographs, This unexpected conversation is one of the highlights of the play that offers a theatrical response to this unimaginable situation and an opportunity to experience a slither of empathy. A great deal has changed in the cultural landscape since 1998 when this play was first presented. Since then, we’ve seen a deluge of serial killer programming on TV and in Hollywood (despite this type being a relative rarity within the criminal classes, they remain prevalent as viewing subjects.) Some treatments are sensationalist and exploitative, others intelligent, nuanced and probing often presented from multiple perspectives. We have come to learn that serial killers are human, not one-dimensional monsters and can sometimes even be sympathetic. This is why the panto paedophile of Frozen is impossible to connect with. Even though we see a glimmer of Ralph's backstory towards the end, his characterisation is designed to have the audience baying for blood from his first appearance. Even the diagrams and multiple theories posited by the criminal psychologist do not alleviate the impression of an irredeemable soul. You come out wondering if Serial Killer Film and TV may have stolen the thunder from Frozen. Before the show starts, there’s a black and white moving image of a huge piece of ice projected onto the back of the stage. It stretches, creaks, expands and imperceptibly melts. This image speaks to a frozen heart, a life stopped in its tracks and the possibility of melting, forgiveness and life commencing. The ice is offset against the idea of a flame. FLAME is the organisation for parents of missing children where Nancy sometimes speaks. They all carry “the flame of hope.” These twin images of hot and cold, life and death, fire and ice, are thematic strands running through the play. The sick or evil? question that underpins the text is perhaps too reductionist, too black and white. There are surely many men with troubled backgrounds who don’t go on child killing sprees. The ghostly sound of a girl laughing, juxtaposed with one of Ralph’s self-regarding monologues as he describes luring the child into his van obviously plays to a crowd. I understand the audience is meant to feel discomforted and disorientated but Frozen left me more cold than chilled. Photographer credit: Danny With A Camera FROZEN by Bryony Lavery at Greenwich Theatre 26 April – 19 May 2024 Box Office https://greenwichtheatre.org.uk/events/frozen/ Reviewed by Nilgin Yusuf

‘brisk, literate, beautifully staged, perfectly performed play' ★★★★ Sometimes you wonder what it is that makes people want to be monarch. Look at Richard III, say – 30 years of decent enough life as a Duke, lots of land, plenty of money, then just over two years as King, every month of them spent fighting to hold on to the throne rather than achieving very much. Or, as Shakespeare’s version of Richard II, would have it, all Kings deposed, slain, haunted by the ghosts of those they deposed, poisoned by their wives – all murdered. Anyhow, let’s sit upon a theatre seat and watch sad stories of the death of Queens – in this case Lady Jane Grey, she of the nine days in 1553, executed by her successor Queen Mary who would herself be dead about four years later and succeeded by her sister Elizabeth. Rosamund Gravelle’s brisk, literate, beautifully staged, perfectly performed play posits a final night for Lady Jane (Martha Crow) while Mary, Elizabeth and the Eminence Rouge Cardinal Reginald Pole try to cajole, tempt or persuade her to recant her Protestantism to save her life, if not, as Lady Jane believes, her soul. There are stylistic echoes here of Schiller’s imagined meeting between Elizabeth of England and Mary Queen of Scots before another execution of a dangerous rival. The dark cavern at the basement of the Barons Court Theatre provides a perfect setting for the play – broodingly claustrophobic, an effect perfectly added to by a stage-smoky opening of Tudor song and Elizabeth (Eliza Shea) revealed playing chess (of course, the game where the Queen’s are all-powerful) with her lover Sir Robert Dudley (Sushant Shekhar). Elizabeth and Cardinal Pole, played by Les Kenny-Green, are the subtle politicians, manoeuvring for position and their own safety, Dudley a man-on-the-make who will convert to Catholicism at the drop of his feathered hat since Mary has restored the old faith and the priests to England after the death of her father, Henry VIII and brother Edward VI. No such moral flexibility for Queen Mary (Becky Black) and Lady Jane, however – the staunch Catholic facing the young usurper who briefly held her throne for Protestantism and, even with the headman’s axe above her head holds to her faith, her God. Both actors excel in the play’s key scene – the ultimate showdown between them as Mary seeks a way to spare her rival’s life without risk to herself while Jane is tempted to bolt for life but, a Woman for All Seasons, chooses conscience. It can be hard for the modern mind fully to comprehend the kind of faith that would embrace such a death (hard enough even then: a bare 40 years or so later the Huguenot Henri de Navarre would think Paris, and the French crown, ‘worth a Mass’.) Lavishly costumed, the production makes remarkable use of a tiny playing area that comfortably contains a sizeable cast and is filled for much of the running time with impressive trays of Catholic votive candles. The choreography’s perfect, the pacing ideal. As can be the case with historical drama, the story itself, gripping as it is, perhaps obscures any theme beyond the bravery of its heroine. But it’s a story very well and elegantly told, particularly in not foregrounding Elizabeth too strongly, the ultimate winner, but here a more watchful presence, reading the room, keeping herself safe at a time when the stakes couldn’t be higher, and indeed something someone less royal would be burned against. THREE QUEENS by Rosamund Gravelle at Barons Court Theatre 23 April – 11 May 2024 Director: Sharon Willems Box Office: https://www.baronscourttheatre.com/threequeensrosamundgravelle Cast: Becky Black - Mary I Martha Crow - Lady Jane Grey Eliza Shea- Elizabeth I Les Kenny-Green - Reginald Pope Sally Sharp - Kat Ashley Sushant Shekhar - Sir Robert Dudley Creatives Directed by Sharon Willems Music by Dimitri Kennaway Lighting design by Leo Bacica Produced by Kibo Productions & Rosamund Gravelle Reviewer: David Weir’s plays include Confessional (Oran Mor, Glasgow), Better Together (Jack Studio, London). Those and others performed across Scotland, Wales and England, and in Australia, Canada, South Korea, Switzerland and Belgium. Awards include Write Now Festival prize, Constance Cox award, SCDA best depiction of Scottish life, and twice Bruntwood longlisted.

“Cleverly combines monologue, physical theatre and painfully realistic dialogue between two people that just can’t seem to do ‘real talk’” ★★★ ½ ‘If you don’t laugh, you’ll cry’. That certainly seems to be the motto for Liam (Conor Rawlett), a northern Irish aspiring stand-up comic who tends to use jokes as deflection. It’s a tried and tested method to keep things light and surface level rather than, god forbid…letting things get a bit too deep under the skin. He shares a flat and a part-time friendship with Billy (Ben Borthwick) an aspiring video game streamer. They bond conveniently over beer, jokes and Mario Kart, meanwhile saving the more brooding moments of self-reflection and authenticity for their respective avenues of limelight. Billy manages to speak candidly and openly to his online viewers whilst Liam favours his heart to hearts on stage rather than in conversation. These moments of transparency function as direct address to the audience, allowing us into the inner worlds of these two characters. Liam serves as the protagonist of this tale and a likeable, all too familiar tragic figure. His heart, though wounded, is in the right place. If only he could quit his various vices - and maybe pay for therapy - he’d be alright. The reality they occupy however is one of rising costs of living in a city of spiralling rent - you’ve got that right, it’s London. Cleverly combining monologue, physical theatre - which at times seems superfluous - and painfully realistic dialogue between two people that just can’t seem to do ‘real talk’, this play tells a story of masculinity, jealousy, heart break and a lacking friendship. It also tells the story of a modern, digital world. A story of fast-growing capitalism and young men struggling to find their feet. Unfortunately, this play does not offer answers and nor does it provide a happy ending - that perhaps, is yet to be written by its audiences who certainly will come away with food for thought and maybe some conversations to have. It’s a big topic which has been tackled head on by a small and ambitious theatre company. Like every ‘big’ topic however there are elements that are destined to remain underexplored and underdeveloped within the constraints of time. Nonetheless, ‘Hard Reset’ are a company to watch and perhaps, to talk about. THICK SKIN by Lion and Unicorn Theatre 23 – 27 April 2024 Company: Hard Reset Theatre Reviewed by Phoebe Moore

‘An entertaining show with audience participation’ ★★★ The show is a busker’s tale of what it’s like to make an entrance onto the music scene via this precarious opportunity. It is also, we are told in the programme, playwright Brett Snelgrove’s tribute to his father, a means of processing the loss of his dad, a theme which is woven into the show. Jamie (Ollie West) is dealing with the loss of his father, who was a busker and decides the best way to grieve is to become a busker himself. It’s not as easy as he imagines with competition coming from seasoned regular Charlie (Evie Joy Wright). Charlie already has her ‘hook’, drumming on anything and everything, to draw the audience in and she doesn’t care to share her pitch. However, she reluctantly begins to warm to Jamie and to mentor him. Just as, it seems that the pair are making an original sound together which would enable them to get pub bookings, Jamie has a change of heart. The play hinges on whether they really want the same things or Jamie is just processing his bereavement. It is a very entertaining show, with audience participation. We’re instructed to give coins to the newbie guitarist and notes to the experienced drummer. If anyone should wonder why they should go and listen to a tale of two buskers in a theatre, the actor’s do harmonize very beautifully, and the music is pleasant enough. The actors play their roles well and have a certain rapport. Evie Joy Wright has the hardest job which she pulls off convincingly as the street wise entertainer who has determination and ambition to make it as a professional musician. Ollie West playing Jamie, has less to work with, as he’s given a lot of backstory which he narrates to the audience. It’s a pity and perhaps a failing of the piece, because this feels rather static and makes it harder for the audience to empathise with the character’s loss. Would it have worked better if the circumstances of his dad’s passing had come out in dialogue between the two buskers? It might have given an opportunity for more depth of feeling, conflict and a reveal, taking the audience along with him on his journey. Square Jaw Productions Presents Street Songs: A Busker’s Tale Directed by Lawrence Carmichael Written by Brett Snelgrove Tues 16th - Sat 27th April

"a daisy-chain of erotic encounters: sharp, funny and absorbing." ★★★★ Originally written in 2008, F***ing Men by Tony award winner, Joe DiPietro, a play about the world of queer male hook-ups and relationships, has been updated for this current production with a limited six week run at Waterloo East Theatre. With bang on references to dating apps, the Cloud, a plethora of pronouns and ever-evolving labels, this fast-paced, entertaining and absorbing one act play infuses the universal themes of connection and the push/pull tensions of monogamy and sexual freedom, with new relevance. Inspired by Arthur Schnitzel’s La Ronde, written in 1897 but not performed until 1920 due to its scandalous content, the format involves a series of interlocking two-handers; a daisy chain of erotic encounters that finishes with the person who kicks off the sequence. It’s a format that works particularly well with the subject matter, allowing audiences to focus wholly on each of the characters across the social and sexual spectrum. All are at different states of ease with their queerness: some are fully closeted, some easing their way out while others cutting a swathe across the scene, brandishing their desire like a loaded gun. While the script is sharp and witty, the staging is simple and effective; a plexi- glass screen separates private and public lives both physically and narratively. Back lit, the screen becomes a soft-focus sauna, a nocturnal night club, or shadowy corner. Front of stage, the action becomes a more intimate space; bedrooms into which we are invited to hear frank or (not so frank) discussions. There’s lots of physical cruising, coupling and climaxing in this “dark emptiness of…urban existence”. but what stays with you is the craving, caring and connecting. While there are thrusting buttocks and toned pecs a plenty, what is most exposed is the vulnerability from the men whose hearts are revealed alongside their bodies. Four performers all multi-role slipping in and out of different characters and accents. There’s the brattish college boy seducing his tutor, the military man in denial, the successful but closeted action hero who might be blackmailed and the porn star with a romantic soul. The performances are all excellent with not a single cut-out between them. It’s the sex workers; rent boys and escorts who present the greatest sensitivity and depth, challenging audiences to look beyond stereotypes, biases and prejudices to this parade of human souls united by their desire to not be alone. This is a gem of a play and shouldn’t be missed. Photography credit - Michaela Walshe F***ing Men by Joe DiPietro at Waterloo East 16 April - 26 May Box Office https://waterlooeast.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/873639019 Presented by Adam Roebuck 18+ Cast: Joe Bishop Rory Connolly Jason Eddy David Michaels ​ Creative team: Director Steve Kunis Set and Costume Designer Cara Evans Lighting Designer Alex Lewer Sound Design Julian Starr Movement & Intimacy Director Lee Crowley Production Manager Carrie Croft Casting Director Anne Vosser Reviewed by Nilgin Yusuf

"There is only one word for this production: exceptional." ★★★★★ Make no mistake, Shakespeare is hard. He gives you a gift – but very few people can unwrap it. Finding one great Shakespearean performance is rare, let alone fourteen great Shakespearean performances. So let me just say, this vast cast blows it out of the water: they not only unwrap it, but they unpack it, wrap it up again, and give it back to you. Delivered by Burnt Orange Theatre, this thunderous and lean interpretation of The Tempest teases out its most magical and enigmatic qualities magnificently, without trying too hard. Burnt Orange Theatre is a company of 16-21 year-olds, though I didn't want to patronise them by taking their age into account. As it turns out, it kind of is worth taking their age into account, as there is only one word for this production: exceptional. This company's command of the stage and the language of Shakespeare is extraordinary – for any age. Indeed I've seen bigger, more mature performances of these masterworks that have fallen far short of this one. In this neatly abridged version of The Tempest, we dive headfirst into the eponymous storm, blowing up the small stage into the endless ocean through a stunning use of physical theatre, light, and sound. Absolute credit here to movement director Amy Rushent, Sarah Carvalho as movement captain (and playing the drunk Stephano), and technical manager Mason Dilworth; as well as, of course, to Anna Blackburn's breathtaking direction. The professionalism here is second-to-none. And this goes for all the movement, in all its often grotesque glory, throughout the whole play. Same for the light and sound, which is clean, creative, flawless, and dramatic. You're there on that shipwreck. Hell is empty and all the devils are here. When we arrive on that middle-of-nowhere, mysterious land, Ioan Oosthuizen's booming voice and lyrical tone lends itself very well to the marooned sorcerer-Duke, Prospero, who throughout the piece seems somehow tortured by his own powers, physically ravaged, which, whether intentional or not, is a really nice touch. Speaking of which, the nautical set and scruffy costumes in muted tones are terrific. You can almost smell the sea salt in the thick ropes and tatty rags, and it gives it a timelessness that adds to the overall disquiet: it's an island of liminal space, stranded in time just as much as at sea. There are a few other stand-outs: Lauren McIntyre's Shakespearean voice as the slave Caliban is utterly fluid and fearless, with an ease that makes the text natural. She throws herself into it completely. But the same can be said for the cast as a whole. As Prospero orchestrates everything around him – his daughter's romance, his enemy's shipwreck – the production hits every beat of action, with a perfect sense of drama. The uneasy colonialist inference is a whisper throughout and as relevant as ever. The pace and general tone is professional and precise, riding the waves of the story, perfectly balancing humour, tension, and beautifully subtle menace. Director Anna Blackburn has shaped a very skilled interpretation. Now, full disclaimer, The Tempest is one of my favourites, but I don't think that has clouded my judgement: if anything, this performance had a lot more at stake because of the fact. But, either way, whether Shakespeare is for you or not, you can't deny that every element of this production is spot on, and it's been crafted in such a way that even a first-timer can enjoy it. It's fresh without messing around with the material and epic without being over-the-top. You could lift this production exactly as it is and play it in a theatre ten times the size, and it would fill it no problem. It's made for it. Indeed when the rapturous, but naturally small-scale, applause came, I was almost struck by where we were, that I hadn't been sat in a full-scale West End theatre, so immersed had I been on that mysterious island, in this operatic performance. I found myself suddenly all at sea, sad to come ashore; like Prospero, our revels now were ended. The Tempest by William Shakespeare Presented by Burnt Orange Theatre Directed by Anna Blackburn The Drayton Arms Theatre  Burnt Orange Theatre Company | Youth theatre | Hammersmith, London, UK Reviewed by Alix Owen

‘This rites-of-passage story offers a gory, feminist call-to-arms’ ★★★ ½ Nine Moons offers a gothic twist on a modern coming-of-age story following three teenage girls learning to embrace puberty, feminism, and the differences between them. With a strong ensemble, simple set and shocking plot twists, Nine Moons is sure to leave a lasting impression. Rarely does a three-hander offer each character a unique arc, yet in Nine Moons, writer Nilgün Yusuf skilfully presents three complicated, well-rounded teenage girls. Portrayed by Selma Alkaff, the centric character Sage offers comic relief, earnestness, and an unashamed desire to be educated. Sophie Andrea plays both new girl Loukia and mythical Bearded Iris – offering a vampire like presence on stage: alluring, intriguing, hell-raising. Ella McCallum plays the insecure yet bullyish Danni, who offers a grounding presence to the descent into absurdity. Danäe Cambrook’s direction shows off the characters well, utilising the performance space to allow for slick ensemble and individual performances. The characters’ chemistry is brilliantly believable, inviting the audience into a false sense of security. Cambrook’s outlandish use of gore and horror was impressive, entertainingly shocking the audience and the characters both. This elevated the script well, and ironically humanised the characters, making them more relatable to the audience as their stories became more disturbing. Tackling the supernatural and the realism is often tricky to balance, yet this production manages it successfully. Often, the repetitive transitions between scenes, combined with the lack of set change, left the new scene location reliant on the actors to introduce. Whilst the use of other theatrical devices was cleverly subtle, perhaps more could be done to bring the audience straight into the scene, particularly in the second half when the intensity and stakes start dramatically rising. This could extend further to portray the passing of time: the play is set over nine lunar cycles, hence the title Nine Moons, yet this unfortunately was not clear. Given this is so imperative to the story, outside of dialogue there is no other acknowledgement that time passes more than a few months. Overall, Nine Moons is a shocking, thought-provoking, entertaining production – portraying relatable themes through a gothic lens. Placed well into the 13+ bracket, this rites-of-passage story offers a gory, feminist call-to-arms. Images by: Jasmine de Silva REVIEW: NINE MOONS by Nilgin Yusuf at Bridge House Theatre 23 - 27 April 2024 Box Office: https://thebridgehousetheatre.co.uk/shows/nine-moons/ Cast SELMA ALKAFF Sage ELLA MCCALLUM Danni SOPHIE ANDREA Loukia & Bearded Iris Artistic Team Director DANÄE CAMBROOK Writer NILGÜN YUSUF, SPECIALIST CONSULTANT: DR. JAZMINA CININAS Lighting Designer ALEX TEIXIDÓ BLOUNA Sound Designer VANESSA GARBER Reviewed by Anna Rastelli

‘A one woman tale of football’s forgotten past’ ★★★ During World War 1, while a generation of men from all over Europe were fighting and dying in the fields of France and Belgium, the women of Britain stepped up to take on the social and economic roles that had been left behind, breaking numerous social barriers along the way. With work came money, and with money came a short window of greater freedom and autonomy. Bella Reay (played here by Catherine Dryden) was one of these women, who embraced her newfound liberty by becoming a star footballer for her hometown Blyth Spartans Ladies team, scoring 133 goals over the course of 30 matches, competing in a women’s league organized during the war. If you’ve never heard of her before then that’s the proof of the Football Association’s success in discouraging and even outright banning women’s football for decades shortly after Bella’s heyday. Unearthing this forgotten history is the play’s core, and Bella walks us through both her personal journey with her team as well as educating us about the larger historical context along the way. Emphasis on ‘educating’ – often the play can feel like something of a museum piece, with strong and constant referencing of facts throughout. This was enjoyable in so far as it made the work feel informative and enlightening, but less enjoyable when it lent a sterilised air to proceedings, feeling more like a recitation of facts than a compelling narrative. A large part of this is due to the overall lack of tension since, as Bella enthusiastically gushes to us, Blyth Spartans Ladies never lost a single game. We’re not offered any insight as to why this is or how it was achieved – they simply just won all the time. True, at times a player or two is lost to pregnancies or the inevitable social pressures of the time, but these difficulties are resolved effortlessly and often feel as if the play has shied away from going deeper into the darker sides of the period. Bringing the period to life however is handily achieved, with the show being well-served by its lighting and video work (including a Match of The Day cameo from Alan Shearer) while the sound is exceptional, evoking the roar of artillery shells as well as crowds of cheering fans to great effect. And that’s ultimately what makes this one woman show about football’s forgotten past work – a dedication to bringing history to life. Fingers crossed a future version can retain this magic but deliver it with a bit more excitement. Wor Bella at The Bread & Roses Theatre 22nd - 24th April & Newcastle Theatre Royal 27th - 28th April 2024 Website: https://www.worbella.co.uk/ Written by Ed Waugh Directed by Russell Floy Produced by Wisecrack Productions Reviewed by Harry Conway