Review: Drawing the Line
Drawing the line takes place in a room that looks rather like a school gymnasium. Between that and the fact that the ‘line’ is literally represented by a thick piece of rope suspiciously like those we were made to climb as children and this show started by evoking some bad memories.
Thankfully, despite there being plenty of school style activities to take part in, including chalk drawing, building blocks and an interesting take on dodgeball, this was the last moment I felt that choking fear that anyone was going to make me climb anything.
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Review: Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens
This is such a beautiful and moving piece of work celebrating the lives and commemorating the deaths of those who have been lost to AIDS. The beautiful, diverse and talented cast were a stunning ensemble and I would be hard pushed to single anyone out. Each delivered something a bit different from the others, and each contributed to the whole.
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Review: Crisis, What Crisis?
If you were to sit down and devise a piece of immersive theatre design to exactly coincide with my life and obsessions, you couldn’t do much better than Crisis, What Crisis.
A political drama set around the vote of no confidence in the Callaghan government you are a group of Labour advisors working at a secret location to solve the labour (and Labour) disputes that are bedevilling the government and putting your wafer-thin majority (just the vote of the speaker in it) in danger of collapse.
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Review: The Swell Mob
Flabberghast Theatre have created a stunning world for The Swell Mob. The world of an 1840 den of iniquity, it is dark and colourful, bejewelled and cheap, murky and fascinating.
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Things You Only Know When You're Plus Size and Online Dating
‘I am already in love with your body.’
In an era of #MeToo, that’s a bold thing for a man to say to a woman he’s barely interacted with on a dating app. I think I’m supposed to be flattered. But when it’s the third sentence in, and both the others have been about his love for big women, you know this man isn’t talking to you – he’s talking to his fixation.
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The Importance of Being Rehearsed
I was recently lucky enough to attend an open rehearsal for Say It Again, SorryCompany’s new production. It’s a sort of meta take on Wilde called The Importance of Being…Earnest?, where the audience not only get to see the behind the scenes drama – every bit as hilarious and farcical as the play itself – but also, through a range of devices, take part.
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Review: Like You Hate Me
Like You Hate Me is a play full of raw honesty and emotion. The relationship between the two characters (the play is a two-hander) jumps dizzyingly between the past, present, and future of a soaring-then-failing love affair, as the highs of desire are steadily replaced with bitterness and regret and then acceptance and even nostalgia.
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Nazi Comparisons have never been more relevant to UK politics - it's time to repeal Godwin's Law
Following David Lammy's recent comments comparing the European Research Group (ERG) to Nazis, and the ongoing dispute over the dismissal of government adviser Roger Scruton for appearing to make what Downing Street described as "deeply offensive" comments, some people have been invoking Godwin's Law. This is the internet “rule” that the longer an argument goes on the more the likelihood that someone will invoke the Nazis and that then shuts down all debate.
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Review: Atomic 50: Time Travels in Tin
First of all, I should declare that I am a ‘Legend of the Forest’. This means that at various events throughout the year that Waltham Forest is the London Borough of Culture, I rock up in bright pink gear and help out. When I heard there was going to be an immersive experience as part of the festivities I was delighted, Then I found out it was for parents and children only (no adults allowed without an accompanying child) I was determined to volunteer to find out what Atomic 50 was all about.
What it’s all about is tin. Tin in it’s many forms. Making things with tin, making a case for tin as an environmental alternative to plastic, making children’s imagination run wild when it comes to all things tin.
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Review: Recollection
Meeting in a pub near Guy’s Hospital, this drama takes you through the London Bridge area, where you will meet Sarah (Rebecca Ward) and Josh (Benedict Hudson). With them you will look into your missing past and theirs.
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Review: Dinner is Coming
Immersive Dinner theatre can be hit and miss. Sometimes great fun, sometimes a disaster. Regular readers will remember I had considerable issues with the staging, content and overall design of a previous Vaults production Divine Proportions.
So it was with a little trepidation that I approached Dinner is Coming. I worried that there would not be enough immersive elements surrounding the food and drink to make it a worthy night out. I needn’t have.
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Review: Dismantle This Room
Dismantle This Room is – in essence – an escape room. You solve puzzles and make decisions as you go through to get through a series of rooms built onto the stage at the Royal Court. However, there is a strong element of self-examination and social justice woven into the experience throughout that give this an added edge.
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Review: Rooms
Rooms confronts you with an interesting question: What is theatre? Where does the live experience begin and end? It has been described as theatre without actors but that's not strictly true. It is theatre without live actors?
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Review: XNN Systems Immersive Corporate Career Development Simulator
Ultimately, This is a rather lovely self-actualisation seminar. The group bonds through exercises to improve vocal expression, self representation and physical comfort and expression. You come in shuffling and giggling nervously, you leave having – if consented – hugged and even sniffed total strangers.
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Let the Justin Trudeau scandal be a lesson: seemingly pristine leaders will always let us down
Must our politicians disappoint? That is the question that is keeping some of us on the liberal left up at night.
The latest let down is Justin Trudeau. He of the bilingual social media, refugee welcoming press stunts and (somewhat performative) feminism. While Trudeau was never as left wing as many of us economically, his leadership style on social issues did seem like a breath of fresh air. He appeared to be willing to take action that went against the narrative of the day, making genuinely tough decisions on issues like immigration where the easy option would have been to turn people away.
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