Billed as ‘a musical fable’ this sparkling production follows the highs and lows of life in show-business. We watch a pushy mother living vicariously through her daughters; an unmarried woman finding fulfilment in the shadow of the spotlight.
All tagged Theatre Review
“Run away from your troubles white man” - Playland at Empty Space Theatre
Playland is a meeting of two men in Apartheid South Africa. These men stand at the brink of a new decade, searching for redemption in the bright lights of the fun fair.
trade: the transactional nature of being
We met with Sharla Smith, Rachel Summers and Gracy Goldman to discuss trade, a warm yet incisive three-woman play about sex tourism. Written by debbie tucker green, trade inspects the transactional nature of being, and holds up a mirror to vulnerability of lonely women and the delusion of White Brits abroad.
Macbeth: Queen of Scotland at the Royal Exchange
For centuries scholars have dissected the power of female characters in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Now, in this new adaptation by Christopher Haydon, Macbeth herself questions the same.
Under Three Moons: A Spotlight on Male Communication
Daniel Kanaber’s new play is at once an in-depth conversation and a presentation of the unspoken. At the show’s heart, the titular moon shines a spotlight on the very human - rather, very male - struggle to communicate.
Make Way for the Matriarchy: Hive City Legacy @ HOME, Manchester
This cacophonous collage of individual stories certainly fulfils its ‘genre-defying’ promise. From poetry, beatboxing, breakdancing, and song, to aerial acrobatics and unforgiving satire, you can never be sure of what the next scene holds.
Lemon House Theatre: shaking up the theatre landscape
Lemon House Theatre (aka Jen and Samia) have landed with a splash - and are about to debut their first full-length productions at The Bunker in South London. Harpy caught up with the smart, savvy pair to talk about theatre, politics and why woman are ALWAYS funniest when they’re in the home. Catch Willow and Different Sand on the 8th, 9th, 15th and 16th September.
Miss Julie @ Hope Mill - An Age-Old Story of Sex & Power
Elysium Theatre Company’s production adheres to the period of the piece, whilst engaging in the timeless battle between servant and master, man and woman.
All I See Is You @ Hope Mill Theatre
All I See Is You follows Bobby and Ralph as they navigate the illegal underbelly of Canal Street in the 1960s. At its core, this production grapples with injustice, adjustment and, ultimately, acceptance.
Drag Becomes Her: A Strange Sense of Sisterhood
This sparkling showcase features big names from Ru Paul’s Drag Race alongside a skeleton cast of fledgling Queens. Together, they celebrate tongue-in-cheek amateur dramatics for a screaming crowd of superfans.
West Side Story: A Story of Love, Loss and Male Bravado
Jets, Sharks; Americans, Puerto Ricans; Men, Women: this is a land of opposites brought together in dissonance. Is it possible to bring a ‘love at first sight’ story into the Tinder-dominated age in which we now live?
Gay Parenting and the Price of Normality: No Kids @ The Lowry
Partners George Mann and Nir Paldi bring us No Kids; a presentation of their internal battles with potential parenthood. What is the price of “normality”? Children are bad for the environment, finances, careers, social lives, relationships, mental health and freedom... but Nir still wants a family.
Barber Shop Chronicles: Brotherhood, Beats and Belonging
Gossiping at the hairdressers; swapping endless stories; spilling emotional truths - these are just a few of the gendered stereotypes that the all male cast burst through.
Mother Courage and Her Children - A Motherf*cking Theatrical Trip
It’s 2080 and the world is still no place for two women on their own. Mother Courage and Her Children is a story of unrelenting action, omnipresent political undertones, and a woman who adapts to survive - whatever the cost.
BINGE! with Mighty Heart Theatre: Feel-Good Feminist Fun
Mighty Heart’s last hurrah pays tribute to a troubled past, swims in happy memories, sharply comments on today’s society and speaks to future generations with hope and guidance. That’s no mean feat for two women in just an hour on stage.
The Maids at HOME: Deconstructing Gender Roles on Stage
Maids playing masters, maids playing murderers; men playing maids. This production of Jean Genet’s The Maids at once addresses gender roles head-on and never mentions gender at all.
Future Bodies: "Stop Being Normal"
The latest explosive collaboration from Unlimited theatre and, feminist favourites, RashDash, brings us into the realm of artistic sci-fi. A montage of two-person sketches explores the human relationship with the machine from a scattergun of different angles. Ultimately, Future Bodies becomes a question of the human relationship with our own corporeal being.
'OthelloMacbeth': a bold attempt at realigning gender focus
OthelloMacbeth brings together two of Shakespeare’s great tragedies. Promising to bring ‘the voices of some of Shakespeare’s most iconic female characters [...] to the fore’, this combination of plays reeks of ambition.
Queen Margaret: Putting the SHE in Shakespearean Drama
The eponymous Queen is interestingly mute for the first few scenes of this feminist re-framing of history. We are firmly grounded in the patriarchal realm of Renaissance drama (indeed, all drama), ready to be sprung into a new orbit.
Championing Untold Stories: Three Feminist Productions breaking the silence at the Royal Exchange
The recent series at Manchester’s Royal Exchange theatre has taken on the important role of platforming the unheard. Real women are taking to the stage to sing some home truths and to celebrate the hard-won fight to have a voice.