This new script centres on two sisters grappling with their father’s alcoholism, coming to terms with how it affected their lives in ways they didn’t realise growing up, and how this is now crashing down on them and the family. The early moments of the script and performance build the relationship of the sisters well, and sets the convention for their video chats to be played out to the crowd. The sound design is a bit over engineered to create a realistic world, and this begins to get tired as the play enters into the more serious aspects of the script. The text and performances follow this same trajectory, which is too bad; there was an opportunity for a lovely tragicomic denouement but it was missed. There is nothing wrong with the production per se, there just isn’t anything new. Bettina Paris is immensely watchable, and I look forward to seeing her working in stronger material, or at least under stronger direction.
The Seagull @ Barbican
There is little that is nice about these people. Ostermeier’s new production of Chekhov’s The Seagull, adapted with Duncan Macmillan, breathes modern ennui and longing into a story over 100 years old. The characters in this play are petty, selfish, petulant, and buffoonish; at no point does Ostermeier try to make them good or admirable, and as a result, we get some exceptional performances from the exquisite cast.
The display of class cues to elicit understanding of the characters’ rank is notable; while these people endure one another, they certainly don’t (for the most part) like one another. Kostya (Kodi Smit-Mcphee) merely tolerates Masha (a pitch perfect Tonya Reynolds), despite her obsession with him. Masha openly disdains Simon (a brilliant Zachary Harris, who in his northern accent, armed with a guitar, is our window into the world).
Emma Corrin’s Nina is heartbreaking; the contrast between her first and second act selves is outstanding, and the thoughtful approach to her breakdown is really quite darkly beautiful. Where many would play Nina’s breakdown in broad melodramatic strokes, Corrin’s Nina appears to be crumbling before our eyes, a porcelain doll teetering at the edge of the shelf.
And what do we say about Trigorin? Tom Burke does not interpret him as an esthete, but rather as a boorish bro, who happened into writing. He is brutish and self centered, making Nina’s love of him more tragic, and his ability to forget about her, the little plaything, all the more believable.
Finally, Cate Blanchett’s Arkadina is a dream. She is a clown, almost bipolar in her swings between desperation for attention and brooding quiet. All the characters have their moments amplified by the microphones on stage, wherein they speak their performative thoughts into amplification, and for Arkadina these are unsurprisingly the most frequent, and the most haunting. The argument where she manipulates Trigorin specifically stands out, as does her breakdown with Kostya.
The willingness to step in and out of the fourth wall, a constant awareness of the act of performance and the presence of the audience makes this Seagull truly powerful. We are all actors, putting on a face, an act, to appear the way we want the world to see us. Some of us are just more aware of it than others.
Bitch Boxer @ Watford Palace Theatre
The 2012 play Bitch Boxer gets an update for 2025, with a fresh view of the young female boxer as a black and queer character. There is little need to change the text to achieve this, however this simple change breathes new life into the script, meaning that it doesn’t feel dated at all. Indeed the story of a working class girl, whose relationship with her father centres around her connection to sport feels even more relevant in the years since the Lionesses Euros win has invigorated a focus in women's sport.
The production is helmed by Prime Isaac in their first major theatre production as director; there is a vision at play here, and at times it comes together beautifully, however on the whole the direction is a bit uneven. It is clear which moments are clearly aligned versus those which felt a bit underdeveloped. This is unfortunate, as Prime has brought together an excellent actor, clever designer, and intelligent sound design — it just all doesn’t quite come together in a cohesive whole. Jodie Campbell is quite strong in the solo show, for her first stage performance, bringing a calm and nuanced performance. That said, the unevenness in the production as a whole is seen in her performance as well; while there are nice moments of giving her space to breathe and play, it also does mean that at times the production feels rudderless. This isn’t a discredit to Jodie’s work; she is engaging, funny, serious — and impressive, she skips and boxes like an athlete throughout the play.
What was strong, however, was this commitment to the community. Jodie is a Watford local, with her first stage performance, and in the Q&A following the show several audience members spoke up, commenting that they heard about the show on instagram or that they don’t normally go to the theatre. The local connection, centred around a stage newcomer, was really exciting to see, and clearly created a moment for the community.
A Knock On The Roof @ Royal Court Theatre
“Why do you warn us before you kill us?”
Khawla Ibrahim’s solo show at The Royal Court explores a woman’s life, restrained by the realities of living in a war zone with a small child. Told through direct address, engaging the audience, the protagonist, Mariam, shares her anxieties. When the knock on the roof — a smaller bomb intended to warn residents of a bigger bombing incoming — happens, she has 5 minutes. How far can you run in 5 minutes? This isn’t a question of competition but of survival; she trains through the night, running, carrying heavy objects to prepare herself, timing how far she can get, her increasing strength. Thinking about the practicalities; what if the knock comes while she is in the shower? or while she is asleep? or going to the bathroom?
The production’s pacing creates this tension for the audience, contrasting relaxed, calm, chat, interaction with the audience and stories of her life with panicked moments of preparatory timed runs, and eventually the real thing.
It is a sobering watch. One which reminds the audience that the people in Gaza are people just like us, with anxieties and worries, hopes and regrets. Ibrahim’s performance is beautifully nuanced, calm and physically expressive.
This is a thoughtful production and well worth seeing.
Couture @ Louvre
In this first of its kind exhibition, The Louvre in Paris showcases couture pieces amongst the objects in its decorative arts galleries. So amongst the ornate chairs, clocks, cabinets, and rugs, there are gowns, bags, and shoes. Individual pieces are on display in these contexts, highlighting the relationship between beautiful objects that we surround ourselves with, and the beautiful objects we cover ourselves with.
There are many highlights, but a few stand out — the Christian Dior (above) displayed on a massive mirrored floor quite literally takes your breath away. The dramatic crumples and shapes of the skirt reflect at all angles, blue and white in contrast to the reds and blacks of the objects around them with clean lines. It is hard to describe the experience of walking into the space and seeing this piece.
This Rick Owens gown with its folded silk and headdress transcends time in a room of soft florals and cream coloured silks. It is new and yet so clearly related to the old.
And finally, this Schiaparelli, reflecting not only the stars in the shapes around the room, but even the way the sun comes in the window and the overhead lighting reflects on the mirrors. Pure magic.
If you’re brave enough to fight the crowds at the Louvre, it is worth it to get to this quiet and magical exhibition.
Jordan Brookes Fontanelle @ Soho Theatre
Jordan Brookes’ Fontanelle is a stand up show and a musical at the same time; it centres around the question of masculinity and what it means to be masculine, explored around the premise of The Titanic, and the fact that women and children were rescued first. Playing with the form of a standup comedy show, the production also has a chorus of 5 musical theatre performers who interject throughout. At times the interjections are funny and clever, and at times they feel like the concept is being shoehorned into the standup. The show works best when Brookes interacts with the audience, however in order to stay with the convention some of these seem to be rushed, rather than living in a chaotic performance space. Beyond this, the production is uneven — it plays with pacing, but unconvincingly. It plays with the edges of comedy, but without payoff. And it plays with performance, dipping a toe into failed performance, but without properly achieving this — and perhaps even unintentionally demonstrating failure in performance.
This all sounds like it was awful — it wasn’t. There were definitely moments of humour and clever insight about the bind between equality and chivalry....but it all felt undercooked, which meant that it veered into undertones of misogyny to get its laughs.
Glenn Ligon: All Over The Place at @ Fitzwilliam Museum Cambridge
American artist Glenn Ligon has been granted free reign by the Fitzwilliam, to provide commentary on the absence of Black and Brown faces and perspectives in a museum which in other areas showcases objects from these very people — the spoils of colonialism.
His work connects through language — with a stark visual representation right on the front of the building. A repetition, a dehumanisation, in large white neon glaring in the daylight.
As you move through the gallery, Ligon’s pieces are peppered throughout the rooms. Most powerfully, his series Black Suns appear all over a room, finding negative space and calling our attention to what isn’t seen, what isn’t there. They are like cobwebs creeping into the space from the corners. Travelling through the main rooms with these smaller pieces, you come to an end room where the largest pieces exist, a room of enormous pieces from his Untitled (I Feel Most Colored When I Am Thrown Against A Sharp White Background) and Mirror overwhelming with their commentary on the experience of Blackness in spaces such as these. It is powerful and moving to see the aggressively layered black ink, words blurring and yet filled with meaning and power. The layers of words representative of the years of oppressive language.
Finally, Ligon's most powerful installation is in a long room where he has removed the paintings from the walls. The sun-dyed walls show the outlines of the paintings which were there before, and Ligon keeps a single painting with a single Black body, and one of his own Suns positioned as a star. The room is filled with ghosts and echoes.
Save The Princess @ Hen & Chickens Theatre
Save the Princess is a choose your own adventure style play, where the audience have agency over the choices of the lead character, Princess Plum, through a clever app that works similarly to online quizzes or polls. The choices of the audience then dictate which world the actors will find themselves in. The actors are adept at jumping into the surprise scenes, and the composition of the piece is clever. The performances, direction, and overall production, however, fail to sizzle. They are passable, but nothing remarkable — it could have been shorter, less shouty, and tighter in terms of timing and pace to properly evoke the urgency that video games create. There was an interesting point of view on the absence of female voices in the video game universes, and the inherent misogyny in these spaces which was smart; I would have like to see the play twist the knife on this just a little more and lean in, rather than entertaining us with just a sprinkle of provocative thought.
When The World Turns @ Southbank Centre
When The World Turns is a multisensory experience performed within a living performance space. Audience members are welcomed in small groups into a circle of plants and gentle lights, under a canopy. There is a soundtrack that underscores the whole experience, which is not a story per se, and does not include text, but rather focusses on attention to all of the other modes of communication — sound, touch, song, breath, and beyond. The production is visually sumptuous, with scents and things to touch, and most notably, the performers focus on a handful of audience members, allowing them the space and time to interact with the performance on their own terms and in their own time.
Sound plays an integral role; with the aforementioned underlying soundtrack, sounds emerge from different areas and speakers that are placed around the circe, and at times move, with ingenious use of fishing rod style capacity to raise and lower, and then also through the performers themselves — and at times the audience. It is immensely playful and surprising for the audience, with sounds coming from everywhere. This could result in feeling overwhelming however the gentle care with which this is done make it peaceful, even in moments of tension. Animals are created from objects you would find around any house, lending that sense of play and creating the feeling you could re-create this in your own imagination at home — I couldn’t help but think of the audience wanting to return home and recreate the elephant with a bit of tube, or the lightning bugs with tiny flashlights.
The result is an experience that encourages us to slow down, look, and listen — and simply breathe along with the plants beside us. What is truly remarkable is the way that access is woven into the production at every turn; it never feels like an afterthought or an add on, but instead it is at the core of the creation. Creating this space for individuals is of course incredible for the target audience - under 12’s of all abilities — but you could see the delight and surprise of their adult caregivers, and even of those of us observing from outside the circle. It is theatre which is intentionally slow and deeply thoughtful, almost meditative; you emerge from the hour filled with a comfortable joy and appreciation for simply being.
I found myself as an outside observer wanting to be inside the circle; for me this is the mark of a production that is hitting the mark. I’m not the target audience and yet wanted to be embedded in it.
My Mother's Funeral @ The Yard Theatre
My Mother’s Funeral is a play about grief, but moreso it is a play about class, particularly about the relationships ambitious young people from working class backgrounds have with their families, and with the middle class environments they find themselves in. Abigail is a young playwright whose mother has just died; a working class woman who raised her two children on benefits, her mum did not have any money to leave her, so Abigail is faced with the financial burden of a funeral and the social burden of her feelings of inadequacy around her inability to provide one, and the anxiety around a council funded funeral and the lack of dignity that may hold. She chooses to cave, to make the art that is demanded of her as a working class artist — poverty porn — to hopefully earn the money to pay for her mother’s funeral.
The play weaves between spaces and times in a really clever way, with the 3 actors shifting between characters. With only 3 actors a host of places, times, and characters are shown, and the structure mirrors the overlapping worlds Abigail is facing, as she unsuccessfully attempts to simultaneously sell her personal story, but keep her personal life and the shame she feels about it separated. What really struck me (as an artist from a working class background) was the explorations around love — what does it mean to love your children and express that love when money isn’t an option? One scene in particular was stark in its criticism of both the middle class inability to understand love without finances, and the working class inability to fund love. The friction between these two points of view was present and really thoughtfully articulated through Abigail’s struggle. It is refreshing to see such an honest examination of the working class experience, and in particular the experience of the children of working class parents entering middle class spaces, where despite their intelligence and passion, they will always feel like outsiders.
The staging is simple yet layered, using the play about a play within a play (how meta) to create additional meaning in the spaces and relationships of objects. Simple moments are both hyper real and clearly theatricalised. At times the performances are a bit shouty where they would benefit from nuance, but overall the pacing and staging were very good as were the performances — in particular the physical work of the performers.
Small Forward - Belarus Free Theatre @ Barbican Pit
Working with famous Belarusian basketball player Katya Snetsyna, Belarus Free Theatre’s latest production, KS6: Small Forward, focusses on Katya’s experience of coming to the realisation of the atrocities her government commits against its citizens, and being ostracised and outcast herself after standing up against the dictatorship, speaking out, and coming out as homosexual.
The production deploys Belarus Free Theatre’s trademark playful stagecraft, this time framing the production around a basketball game, including a kiss cam, live DJ, and half time basket competition. While it is fun and engaging, the production as a whole doesn’t quite hang together — which is unfortunate, as the story is compelling, and important to raise awareness.
The use of music was clever, with the live DJ Blanka Barbara not only hyping up the crowd as if at a basketball game, but then also live mixing the underscoring for the entire play. The design used the tools of a gym and basketball game to create multiple spaces and evoke feelings which were at times really powerful, but also at times didn’t quite have the desired impact.
All in all not a bad production, just not their best — which is unfortunate as the subject matter deserves attention. While led by Snetsyna who is an engaging person (she lit up in the pre-show chat) most moments of her as an actor fell flat — which is fair for a first time actor leading such a huge story. Additionally, I really liked the touch of sharing images and QR to write to prisoners, but although it did tie in to an element of the story (when she speaks of her friend who was imprisoned) the link feels tenuous — and again here I just wanted it to connect a little more deeply.
The Years @ Harold Pinter Theatre
Adapting an epic novel which spans multiple decades is no easy feat, and in particular, one which follows the same woman through phases of her life. Eline Arbo’s adaptation tackles this with seeming ease; with 5 actors portraying the woman at each phase of her life, while also embodying the other people and events in her orbit, there is no artifice of realism. The production’s clever staging brings to life major events, all while making it quite clear we are watching a performance.
Each of the 5 women is given some properly chunky material to work through, the emotional baggage we pick up as we age, the memories of the past. There is no weak link in this production, across the script, performers, direction, and design. It is clearly well conceived — so much so that it makes me wonder whether there could be another production that would do it justice.
As you can imagine, covering the life of a woman who was born during WW2 through the many radical shifts of female rights and public existence in this time, from illegal back room abortions to the feminist movement and increase of divorce rates covers a lot of ground. In what definitely didn’t seem like the first time (from the swift professionalism of stage management and the exceptional technique of the performers to pause and then drop back in) the show had to be stopped due to someone in the audience being overwhelmed by the abortion scene. While it is risque as far as West End performance, it was brilliant to see materials that was modern, feminist, and intellectually challenging on a West End stage.
A very good production of a good script - definitely worth your evening.
... blackbird hour @ Bush Theatre
...blackbird hour is told primarily through Eshe, a young woman battling demons. We see her primarily anchored to her bed, a place of comfort but also one of enablement. Voiceover haunts and interacts with her heavily at first, and then with a lighter touch as she is visited by two lovers, each of whom represent a connection to one of the sides of her. The text is delightfully poetic; sharp and soft at the same time, moving through the story with intense reality, heightened through the language to align with Eshe’s heightened state, her struggle. As it shifts further into Eshe’s mind, reality shifts. Where in earlier scenes Eshe is the one who is outside normality, while Ella and Michael are grounded, later on the tone shifts so that we experience from Eshe’s point of view, Ella and Michael becoming exaggerated and robotic, and the experience of time expanded yet contracted.
While this is not babiyre bukilwa’s first production, it was their first play — which makes the quality of the language and layers of the story all the more astounding. This is a masterful piece of writing that gets inside mental illness in a truly unique way.
Evlyne Oyedokun is powerful as Eshe. She moves through rippling emotional shifts effortlessly, shaping the manic and depressive moments with care. Despite rarely leaving the bed for a significant period of the play, she is physically dynamic and engaging, embodying Eshe with every ounce of her being. This is a thoughtful, nuanced, and challenging performance of difficult content and text.
One element that will stick with me, however, is the inclusion of surtitles. Where many productions will include these, projected across the top in plain colours, never moving...this production made them a part of the experience of the play. Words appeared in different fonts, colours, and positions in alignment with who was speaking them, which was ingenious to create the different voices visually. But most importantly, the pace of words appearing and disappearing had a powerful effect; at times the delay versus what was spoken aided in tense moments, creating the effect of feeling the character’s mouth was racing ahead of their thoughts as we often do in arguments....or conversely, when a word or phrase remained projected during a pause, it quite literally hung in the silence, echoing at us through the visual representation. This was an incredibly powerful choice to not only make accessibility a part of the production, but arguably a part of the storytelling itself.
Five Lines @ Barbican Pit for Mime London Festival
Five Lines bills itself as micro cinema; live projected and manipulated models of miniature objects, with a mixture of live and pre recorded sound as well as video, and some moments of live action. The seed of the idea was interesting; a couple meet and fall in love, then there is a natural disaster and they are forced to live in a shady underground hierarchical world where their work is exploited, and their interests (he a musician, she an activist) diverge. The cast were responsible for manipulating the scenes and lights, as well as the cinematography. There was a lot going on, a lot of ideas, but rarely did they feel like they held together for more than a moment or two.
Choices around how elements were used, and the scale of action, or even what was live/manipulated/pre recorded felt arbitrary and confusing. Indeed even choices around when to see the manipulation of miniatures and when it was “magic” were inconsistent and arbitrary. This isn’t to detract from the skill of the performers, or the seed of the idea…it simply did not translate into anything compelling or meaningful.
Not A Word - Bru Theatre @ Barbican Pit for Mime London Festival
Not A Word is a poetic, wordless reflection on the loneliness of those living and working abroad, with specific reference to the Navvies who left Ireland to work in ports, in gruelling, lonely jobs.
A unique and thoughtful production, this piece challenges our perception both of the story as it unfolds, but our expectations of reality. A world is created, rules understood, and then these expectations are upended in a moment of surprise or shift, playing with surreal moments such as a magical world appearing in a cupboard, while hyper real moments abound such as a functioning tap and steaming kettle. The innovative use of these elements created a strong and cohesive overall production. The use of music and sound was innovative as well, creating a representation of both the real shipyard and the fanciful memory of home, layering live and recorded sound in real time, almost overwhelming and creating a sense of this for the audience, replicating what the character felt, too.
Absolutely beautiful, breathtaking work, that took its time.
La Manekine @ Barbican Pit for Mime London Festival
Le Manékine is a dark fairytale, told through music, clown, puppetry, and video, all of which come together through the evocative performances of the two performers. The production shifts in its magnitude, starting with small puppets, shifting to bigger mask and full body puppetry, transforming the two performers into a whole suite of characters. Video then supplements, with stop motion style masked performers progressing the story. This is all underscored by one performer who plays so many instruments I lost count, often multiple at once. The music was truly integral, and supported the transformation of the other performer between many characters, each unique physically and vocally. The creation of spaces through small objects and puppet focus was inventive and fun.
It had moments that didn’t quite work, specifically some of the earlier song breaks, although they fed into the final one which was haunting. Overall a unique and playful performance that packs a punch.
Hold On To Your Butts @ Arcola Theatre
Positioned as a low-budget live action re-enactment of Jurassic Park….in a theatre….Hold On To Your Butts is a semi-improvised theatrical presentation of the story of the film (sort of), with silly character traits emphasised, and cardboard cut out kid’s basement style interpretations of costumes to create the heightened moments of the story.
It had moments of humour, but for me just wasn’t sufficiently a parody, or sufficiently campy to elicit more than a chuckle, leaving me to question what the point was. Granted, the audience seemed to enjoy the point of view more than I, so perhaps I am just not quite the right audience for this. It wasn’t bad, it just for me wasn’t particularly new or interesting.
OffWestEnd Awards - Assessors & Productions Wanted!
The OffWest End Awards (or Offies) celebrate exceptional work in London’s smaller venues, and has done for many years now. This fully volunteer-run organisation consists of theatre makers and critics who love theatre, and want to help celebrate and showcase this work. Work that is often small, new, experimental — or all those things at once.
I joined the team in late 2023, as an assessor. I’ve found it to be a really exciting way to see shows that I might not otherwise be aware of, learn about venues, and keep current on the context of contemporary performance in one of the busiest theatre communities in the English Speaking world. Since the start of 2024, I’ve been co-lead of the IDEA category, specifically focussed on innovative and experimental theatre, the work that pushes boundaries of form and content. I’m honoured to spend many of my evenings assessing innovation in theatres across London, and celebrating creators that are continually extending our understanding of what makes great performance.
Importantly, it has been a way for me to continue to contribute to the conversation about contemporary theatre-making, even when not directing or writing myself. I’ve been fortunate to get to take in many brilliant and boundary-pushing pieces of performance, which inspire my own practice.
We are always looking for news about productions in the community, and welcome interested parties to become assessors and help celebrate new work in London.
Do you have a show that you want to promote, and potentially be considered for an Offie?
Producers can submit details on their show here.
Are you a theatremaker or critic who wants to contribute on a voluntary basis as an assessor?
Fill in the application form here to be considered to join our exciting team
The Devil Wears Prada @ Dominion Theatre
One expects high camp from an adaptation of a cult classic film about fashion, with music by Elton John and starting Vanessa Williams. And to a large extent, the production delivers. It is silly and delightful and funny — at times it takes a serious turn to tackle subjects like impostor syndrome and growing up gay, but a chuckle is never far away.
Adapting a cult classic movie for the stage is tricky; you have to contend with the ghosts of a production not just that people saw or read about, but have watched repeatedly, memorising not only the script and snappy one liners, but the cadence and delivery of each beat. The West End production does a decent job at balancing this, giving faithful audience members the lines they want, while also trying to get new life out of the material.
The music is very good, enhanced by incredible performers. The lyrics and script, however, let the production down; attempts at new text fall flat, and often the rhymes in the songs feel shoehorned. The choreography and design (particularly the costumes). Where some scenes choreography is cleverly pedestrian, using runway struts and campy drag style movements to enhance the story, some scenes feel almost as if the choreo was thrown together on a lunch break, eliciting no meaning from the text or moment in the play. Similarly the costumes are uneven, some opulent, some Primark.
On the whole it isn’t a bad production — and the people it is directed to will adore the campy fun of the entire experience. You enter The Dominion Theatre and feel as if you’re at an exclusive party — house music playing, backdrop for red carpet photos, beautiful flowers and RUNWAY posters abound (a beautiful foreshadow to the most exceptional scene in the play, the Met Gala style event which echoes Phantom’s Masquerade). The performances are exceptional from all leads, and they’re supported by a generally strong chorus.
So long as you go expecting camp, not commentary, you’ll have a great time.
Nutcracker - Birmingham Royal Ballet at Royal Albert Hall
My first time seeing a ballet staged for the iconic Royal Albert Hall, and it did not disappoint. Making use of the thrust stage, the production invited the audience to feel a part of the action, not only for those sitting practically on stage, but for the entire audience. Making use of the height of the building, the clever design brought objects down from the ceiling, ran through the floor aisles, and even projected up to the skies, creating a feeling of being inside the production (quite literally when we were inside the tree for the dream sequence).
The BRB’s nutcracker is a mix of work by several choreographers, and this is apparent at times, when the movement style and even spacing choices change abruptly. At times this is to positive effect as we jump between worlds, however at times it is jarring. Notwithstanding, the company were exceptional, of particular note our Nutcracker Prince (guest appearing from another company) and Clara. I was left a bit underwhelmed by sugarplum, however.
All that said, it was probably the most magical experience I have ever had at the ballet - I can only imagine how life changing this would be for a small child seeing it.