Diaspora Inferno: From My Grandmother's Kitchen @ Drayton Arms Theatre

A group of women, moving through their own stories in the world, yet with a common thread. Diaspora Inferno explores the common experiences of women across places and times through highly physical and representative work; the piece is experimental in nature, and really pushes the edges of how story is typically told on London stages, leaning instead into an outside-in approach, stepping away from narrative and arguably even structure, yet creating emotional moments of connection for the audience.

The scenes are not evenly powerful, however those that are - notably the actor eating an ice cream, telling us a story of rationed sunshine, is exquisite, and will sit with me for a long time to come. I would love to see this piece develop further to clarify some of the ideas and images, as there is something really compelling and engaging at its core.

Transpose Pit Party: Subverse @ Barbican Pit

A short evening of five connected pieces, the Transpose Pit Party bills itself as a cabaret, but felt more like an installation mixed with a concert. Featuring new work by 5 Trans artists, largely song and movement based, the Subverse evening leveraged strong production value through simple use of light and scaffolding, along with a gauze curtain.

The musical production was strong, however what really stood out for me was the innovative use of movement. In particular, during the opening song the beautiful imagery of a shadow who the performer was wrestling down, as if wrestling with others’ opinions of themself, or their own internal demons, was quite striking. Similarly, the movement choices throughout though simple, were highly effective and dramatic, creating tension in the performance.

Romans @ Almeida Theatre

Alice Birch’s latest play, Romans, dissects toxic masculinity through focus on a single family’s three sons, and their own evolution as people. We see them as children, then young men, then as grown adults with wives and children. This sounds very straightforward for something from Alice Birch, but it is anything but; while we see the same people through their lives, their lives span not just the decades of reality, but catapult through historical periods, so we see Edwardian children, free spirited 1960’s young men, and then 2025 adult men….and all that comes with it. By removing the artifice of the realities of time, Birch can remain laser focussed; what we experience today, and the way men behave isn’t new. It has been happening for centuries, and is so deeply rooted we struggle to see it clearly.

The women in the play serve an important purpose — in the mens’ world they are at first props (quite literally at times) whereas when we get closer to today, the women push back, they comment, they observe and act. Indeed, in case a viewer were to think that Birch is in any way condoning the poor behaviour, the women at points comment on the play and characters outwardly, in a meta-theatrical way….reminding us of what we’re watching and what it means. The violence in both the words and actions lingers in the air.

Sam Pritchard’s production is slick; in particular the use of sound, amplification, and music as well as the use of the inventive stage setup, almost piled upon itself. Like London, in this set if you dig deep enough you’ll find something older, something different. The performances are uniformly excellent — and I’ll be surprised if this doesn’t make the leap to a West End transfer.

This script is the story we need right now.

Uprooted @ New Diorama

Uprooted is an esoteric piece of performance which lives in the frame of physical theatre and imaginative use of props to create visual story. There are elements of a narrative, at times through text but more often (and more effectively) through visuals and sound — indeed the text moments were the weakest of the production, and in many ways undermined the larger thrust argument of the piece.

There were many strong visual and audio elements, but also many moments of confusion, shouting, and indiscernible communication to the audience. While the ideas were original and innovative, at times it almost felt like innovation for the sake of it rather than to convey an idea — which is too bad. The ideas themselves were interesting and compelling however there were too many, and often they were under-served by the loyalty to using the props in new and different ways.

Overall there’s something here, but it needs another round of refresh to get there.

Flowers of Srebrenica @ Jacksons Lane Theatre

Flowers of Srebrenica is a new work inspired by the book of the same name by Aidan Hehir. It blends physical theatre with video projection, interspersed with scenes, to craft a story about a moment in time, but also about this moment in time. The script jumps between these spaces — at times artfully, however the odd jump is clunky. Despite this occasional clunkiness in transition, the cast are uniformly exceptional to watch, supported by strong projection design and sound design to create the liminal space where the play exists.

Devised and performed by actors who themselves are displaced from places where genocide has taken place (or currently is taking place), the play confronts the “audience at home” as they call it; those of us who sit at home, watching these atrocities unfold, but then are able to switch off the news and go to sleep in our warm beds. There are several moments where the 3 women, who act as a chorus but also almost as ghosts, weaving into the space and commenting on the experiences of the “real” people, remind us that this isn’t a thing in the past….it is something that is still happening today. Indeed one of the most poignant moments includes a stream of video with the names of those killed scrolling, seemingly forever, as the women offer handfuls of dirt to audience members, and another actor openly weeps.

It was truly delightful to see work created through techniques that are not text-first; the most powerful moments of the production were those where the performers’ physicality twisted and pent up to evoke an emotion in them — truly an outside-in approach that we don’t get to see on London stages as often as we’d benefit from. The company were uniformly compelling in this regard.

ROTHKO - Łukacz Twarkowski @ Barbican

What gives art value? This is the central question of Twarkowski’s Rothko, a dazzling multimedia epic which blends live performance, live to film recording, an extravagant set, and overwhelming encompassing music. Positioned as a documentary, but in overlapping timelines, the play digs into the historical moment when a Rothko was sold posthumously at a record fee, but then identified as a fraud, actually made by someone in China. The core event is surrounded by its past and future, layering a single place — the restaurant frequented by Rothko and his contemporaries in New York — with the current reflective documentary moment, the moment itself, and Rothko himself.

It would be challenging to say there is a narrative here (although there are elements of story), but rather the production is an argument. We see layers of “real” and “fake”, authentic and inauthentic, high art and workaday. They overlap and bump into one another. The text at times is scenes, but at others is documentary, while still others arguments, almost ted talks.

This is compelling, deeply intellectual work — and yet it didn’t feel like a lesson. The pace and inventiveness of the way the piece moves, both physically and intellectually, is blistering, relentless. Absolutely incredible, and its questions are still cropping up in my mind, even weeks later.

Monster @ Seven Dials Playhouse

Monster tells the story of a woman’s life over three time periods and the core relationships in her life; we first meet her as a troubled teen, and see the groundwork of her trauma, ultimately leading to a horrific action. We see her next in her twenties, getting married, but reckoning with the ongoing effects of that action, and then finally in her thirties, reconciled with what she did, reuniting with her friend.

The story itself is compelling, although the script’s highly linear structure does it a disservice, taking it from what could feel extremely challenging to the audience, to something almost (frustratingly) predictable. The characters have various levels of depth, and at times I questioned the need to meet some of the secondary characters, the script potentially being stronger if we had fewer outside forces distracting the story.

The direction was strong at times, but overall felt under-cooked; highly emotive moments resorted to shouting where there ought to have been texture and nuance.

This all together sounds like it was terrible; indeed it wasn’t, there were many redeeming moments however as a whole it simply did not hang together for me, either as a script or production.

A Midsummer Night's Dream @ Southwark Playhouse

This energetic 85 minute adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream was framed uniquely; rather than positioning it as an interpretation of the play, it positioned it as children in a 19th century playroom inventing a story. Through this positioning, the magic of the fairies, as well as the relationship between Fairy land and the Athenians was playful and filled with joy. This positioning also created a space to critique some of the logic challenges in the play, and excuse the silliness of the plot — odd choices were explained through the children inventing the next plot twist.

What was really enjoyable was seeing the audience of over half children (of an array of ages) engaged with the story and text nonstop throughout the 85 minutes. The combination of slapstick performances, audience participation, and magical design created a spell that kept the children excited and attentive.

The premise of the show was innovative, and the design and overall production fed and grew into the innovation exceptionally well. It is really exciting to see work that doesn’t speak down to the young audience, and simultaneously challenges the form and well-loved content.

Folklorica @ Drayton Arms Theatre

Folklorica is a piece of new writing, weaving together a number of threads which if I were to list, would feel ambitious. Using a folk tale and folk dance, the story follows a young female protagonist who begins in an exploitative factory, and through connecting with her history and the magic of historical practices, overcomes personal challenges to take control of her own life.

She is supported in her journey by 4 women who later become goddesses, as well as a healer of sorts — all of whom help her against the single male character, who represents misogyny and capitalism and all things bad. This sounds simplistic but as an allegory works quite effectively. I did wonder whether 4 women were needed, could two or three have worked? Yet the balance of this group and their impact on the story was clear — so it is difficult to critique.

I would have liked to see some further development stylistically — the production could use a stronger directorial hand, and the script can lean even further into this creative world — however on the whole it was an interesting and engaging evening, and a piece worthy of further development.

Stereophonic @ Duke of York's Theatre

Far be it from me to seek out hyper-realism on stage, but the extreme detail in Sterophonic — from the overlapping conversations, to detailed props, to a set that includes fully functional reels and tapes in the recording studio — creates a spellbinding world that pulls you in to the drama of this band.

Framed around a fictional band, the story rather closely aligns with the real life story of Fleetwood Mac, which is both its strength, and in my view, its downfall. The spine of the story structure is so clear, and fictionalising the conversations that may have happened over the course of recording this album was very compelling, creating tension through the work that spills out into the music they are co-creating. This same structure, however, is its drawback. The central character whose anger, narcissism, and misogyny create an abusive situation that while the work is good, is an unhealthy environment for all. The script has an opportunity to do what we haven’t been great at in reality, and hold the character to account. Unfortunately by sticking to reality, while he loses “the girl” and the band breaks up, he is still successful and faces no real consequences. In a way, the script explains and makes excuses for the abusive auteur who creates good art. Not a message we want to land in 2025….

This is unfortunate, as the performances were uniformly strong, the cast exceptional, the direction tight and intentional.

Eh up, me old flowers! @ White Bear Theatre

I went into this production knowing nothing of Charlie Williams — and came out, intrigued, engaged, and wanting to learn more. Framed around British comedian Charlie Williams interview ahead of receiving an MBE, the script dives through time using only two actors, strong physicality, and a bit of light projection. These simple elements are used to great effect.

The script had a solid story that wove in and out of time periods well, and in my view did a good job being an “issue play” without feeling contrived. It brought nuance and thoughtfulness to the story, and kept a solid pace. It uses humour and self-reference, as well as a broken fourth wall to achieve a real connection with the audience. There were no parts of the story that felt unnecessary. Note this is an extended version of the play that ran at Edinburgh Fringe 2022.

The two actors were equally exceptional. Tony Marshall plays Charlie Williams at an array of ages, physicalising the changes with a subtle and detailed set of choices. His emotional range is exceptional, and demonstrated through considered work here; he is both funny and sad. Nick Denning-Read plays so many characters I lost count; as the only other actor in the play he portrays literally every person who turns up in Williams’ story. From football stars to fellow comedians, school teachers to backup singers. His comic timing is brilliant, and his accent work is award worthy on its own (not to take away from the rest of his performance!)

The direction was even handed, with a clear musicality to the interpretation of the text. The space was used effectively, with clever placement, objects transforming, and spaces transitioning seamlessly. Not to mention the finely tuned pacing which gave the actors a clear score in which to bring forth their exceptional performances.

Fat Ham @ Royal Shakespeare Company

An adaptation of Hamlet focussed around a Black American family. An adaptation which doesn’t give the tragic ending we all expect. There is much to like about the premise of this production — and oodles about the script itself, which was layered beautifully with references and text from Shakespeare while also creating modern poetry reframing the same topics in today’s parlance.

The performances in this production - the UK Premiere — are largely exceptional, and the directorial choices overall strong. There were, however, some moments lacking clarity; for example when we as the audience were (or were not) complicit and the fourth wall broken was muddy. The change happened so frequently and almost irrationally that it was difficult to say it was intentional, although I hope it was….I perhaps just didn’t see it.

It was really, really good on the whole. There were some character choices that felt too surface relative to those which were really well grounded; in particular Ophelia and Hamlet, and switching Polonius to the intense mother figure. The design, the playfulness of the script, and the characters who largely went deeper than caricature were all exceptional. Yet something niggles, and I can’t quite put my finger on it. I almost need to see it again (or read it?) to identify what felt off.

Nonetheless, a smart and funny adaptation that subverted expectations and avoided tragedy-porn at every turn, well worth seeing.

Second Summer of Love @ Drayton Arms Theatre

Second Summer of Love reflects on what it is like to be a Gen X former raver, now serious responsible adult and parent, and what happened to those joy-filled and optimistic free spirits. Framed around a mom and her teenage daughter who is revising for a Social Studies exam about drug use, the majority of the show exists in a flashback to her experiences as a 16 year old, raving in fields in the South of England. The flashbacks are when the play is strongest, but it really highlights how the script struggles when the other two actors are on stage; which is no disrespect to them, but rather to the impact of the adaptation from solo show to three hander. While this was needed for the actor’s ability to continue performing, the integration of the other characters as separate bodies in space needs more attention to help the script work in this new form.

Despite a strong performance from the lead actor, the injection of the additional characters, along with multiple false endings undermined its overall impact, which is too bad — as in its strong moments, it really had a funny and self-referential spark.

Stanley Donwood & Thom Yorke - This Is What You Get @ Ashmolean Museum

I really adore collaborations across mediums, so the opportunity for a glimpse into how Stanley Donwood and Thom Yorke have collaborated across the Radiohead albums was exciting.

While I enjoy Radiohead, I can’t claim to be the world’s superfan; the exhibition likely was more exciting for those who were, however what I really enjoyed about it was the playfulness of the work, the way the two artists pushed and responded to one another despite working in different mediums. It was fascinating to see the process laid bare, the relationship to creation exposed.

My only critique from a curatorial standpoint is that the music didn’t play a larger role. There was opportunity to bring sound into the space to help enhance the experience of the work and highlight the collaboration. Nonetheless, worth seeing.

Jean-Michel Othoniel - Les Phantomes D'Amour

Jean-Michel Othoniel was invited to create an installation that spanned not a single gallery or even a single building, but the entire city of Avignon to correspond with the Avignon Festival 2025. I had the pleasure of seeing the work across Collection Lambert, the Palais des Papes, and the Pont, along with around the city.

Each piece held its own significance and imagery, however despite similar repeating patterns, each reflected something new depending on where it was exhibited. The depth of the resin bricks for example, held one image in a bare gallery, but took on entirely new meaning in the main area of the Palais.

Similarly, his almost impressionist flowers looked stark and flower-like individually in a gallery, wheareas seeing them in a large assortment on the walls of a large, high-ceilinged room in the Palais they took on an almost celebratory feel, like fireworks.

The ability to weave religious imagery in contemporary objects imbued with contemporary meaning was quite notable, along with the careful curation. Each piece almost felt as if it was created for this space alone, yet was part of a wider dialogue with the walls of the city itself.

Alice in Wonderland @ Marylebone Theatre

This new adaptation of Alice in Wonderland packs a mountain of brilliance into a one-hour package full of delightful moments. The production is cohesive and unified; combining the princples of panto, puppetry, and physical theatre, the result is a slick and seamless visual feast which has jokes and fun moments for all ages, mixing the original Lewis Carroll text with contemporary references (and the odd groaner…it wouldn’t be a panto-style performance without it).

Particular stand outs were the use of physical theatre techniques to create the magic moments in the story; whether it is Alice falling down the well, her growing and shrinking, or the cartoonish relationship between characters, each beat of movement is filled with intention and consideration to create specific and thoughtful images.

This is accompanied by some fun and at times silly puppetry — my favourite of which was the unique way that the sea of tears was created.

Finally, the panto elements, staged so that the characters are “on the level” of the young audience speaking directly to them, the villainous Queen of Hearts simultaneously a panto Dame, Donald Trump, and Latrice Royale from Drag Race US, and silly pop song references — each of which contribute to the silly, fun, referential nature of the production.

This is children’s theatre done to perfection.

Alone, Together @ Camden Fringe

This new devised work contains a lot of bright ideas, however they get lost in the constraints of the structure. It begins intriguingly as a movement piece, with the performers alone in crowds, some nice physical work supporting this. The build on this is to show them all in their workplaces, facing similar limitations to the engagement of their students (they are all teachers, and we learn at the same school). Still intriguing….but this is where the structure becomes more of a constraint than a benefit. The actos pair off into couples, for each of whom we see snippets of their relationship tied to pop songs; each relationship meditates on the challenge in connecting to and truly knowing another person.

The choice to explore this through increasingly lengthy scenes is okay, but nothing new or groundbreaking — and indeed after a couple cycles feels repetitive, and undermines the argument the company are seeking to make with this devised piece. The relationships are mediated through phones, with individual attention trapped in them, however these movement sections interspersing the text feel more like superfluous and complicated scene changes than intentional moments.

It is all too bad, as the piece is earnest, and indeed showcases the acting of the young performers well — they are all interesting and thoughtful performers. However, as a work on its own, it is lacking.

La Lettre - Milo Rau @ Avignon Festival

If you had told me that the first play I saw at Avignon Festival would be interactive, or in French, or a critical view of bourgeois productions of The Seagull and Jeanne D’Arc….I would have believed you. If you had also told me that production would be in a recreation centre in a tiny village 30 mins by bus up the hill from Avignon, where there are no busses back after 8pm….that I may not have believed. Much less that this would be where I would see a fresh new Milo Rau production.

Each year, the festival commissions an artist to create a work that has specific restrictions; it must be performable in French or German, have no more than 2 actors, and must be able to be performed anywhere, and with minimal set. These productions tour following the festival each year.

Milo Rau’s La Lettre was this year’s offering. Starting from the premise of an actor receiving a letter from a relative, and subsequently diving into themes of imagination, dreams, expectations, and the struggle of an artistic life, the two performers were captivating throughout. Indeed, while the play explored huge themes, nothing really happened. In the best way possible. Reckoning with these themes, in the shadow of these two huge plays and the expectations that come with them, the production was wildly simple in its execution. The audience were less auditors than full fledged participants — not least through literally giving printed text and props to some members, including one who acted like a ringside model at a boxing match, carrying titles across the stage in a delightfully self referential titling that Brecht would have been proud of.

We were always aware it was a play. That plays are weird and strange. That sitting in the dark watching people pretend is odd. And yet while it was a critique of theatre, La Lettre was also a love letter to theatre itself. To imagination and playfulness, and not taking ourselves too seriously.

Mamuka @ Off Avignon Festival

Mamuka is a magical dance piece for children, performed by two dancers. The piece employs puppetry and papier mache headpieces to support the dancers in creating various movements of different woodland creatures, all centred around mythical fairies.

The choreography was captivating; the young people in the audience (as well as us older people) were drawn into the world created by the dancers and their headpieces, with their physical vocabulary adjusting to create multiple layers of this world.

What was truly enjoyable was that the movement vocabulary wasn’t simplified for children; it used complex imagery and technique based in modern dance, which elevated the performance.

Romeo & Juliet @ Shakespeare's Globe

I love when an interpretation brings new light to a text, so was excited to see Sean Holmes’ Romeo & Juliet at The Globe, set as a Western. The blustering, warring families are perfectly placed, and the American imagery this conjurs brings an interestingly modern layer (after all, America today is divided more than Verona ever was).

The cast are generally quite good (although I can’t say I loved the interpretation of Benvolio) — and the two young lovers bring an intelligent and thoughtful take on the characters. Indeed both brought a playful quality one can only have when there is a true and deep understanding of the text — so bravo to these young performers.

There were some fun inventive directorial decisions, in particular using the yard to great effect — however in the final act there were some unnecessarily awkward choices, bringing dead characters back on stage seemingly as ghosts? Indeed the otherwise clever interpretation was undermined by these unusual (and not textually founded) choices.

Nonetheless, the production is worth seeing.