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The Play's The Thing UK

British Theatre & Performance Criticism

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Feature | Rehearsing Working Class Hero

by Diana Miranda Written and co-performed by Bulgarian migrant Theo Hristov, Working Class Hero is an absurdist satire that takes us on a high-speed romp through the British class system via two actors with different backgrounds: a white, privately-educated Posh Actor frustrated by being pigeonholed, and his friend, a migrant Working Class Actor, who writes […]

Motor Home Marilyn, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

by Laura Kressly When Denise was a teenager in Southend, she was desperate to become a Hollywood star and willing to do anything to achieve it. Now, decades later, she’s living in a caravan and working as a Marilyn Monroe impersonator in Las Vegas, far removed from the life she dreamed of. Soap star Michelle […]

Edinburgh Festival Fringe: Lost Lear, Consumed, and The Beautiful Future is Coming at the Traverse Theatre

by Laura Kressly As the population ages and continues to be threatened by underfunding and lack of adequate resources, quality care for elderly people is under threat. The acclaimed Irish play Lost Lear by Dan Colley challenges this by providing a narrative of hope. Safely tucked away in a care home, Joy (Venetia Bowe) re-lives […]

This Bitter Earth, Soho Theatre

by Zahid Fayyaz This summer production is Billy Porter’s directorial debut, starring Omari Douglas and Alexander Lincoln. Harrison David River’s two-hander follows the story of Jessie and Neil and their tragic love story in the turbulent period of 2012-2017. The play cuts between different parts of the couple’s relationship, from the highs and lows, with […]

Saria Callas, Camden People’s Theatre

by Anne-Charlotte Gerbaud In Saria Callas, Seemia Theatre and Sara Amini deliver a powerful solo show that explores identity, memory, and freedom. This multimedia production traces the journey of Saria, who fled Iran to escape a life of restriction, only to realise that her decision may also have paved the way for her child to […]

Natalie Palamides: WEER, Soho Theatre Walthamstow

by Zahid Fayyaz After several years of development and subsequent building works, the Soho has opened its north London outpost in Walthamstow, in the beautiful former Granada Cinema that’s also a Grade 2 listed building. A lovely, glitzy venue, and with a capacity of just under 1000, this space debuts with Natalie Palamide’s award nominated […]

Scenes With Girls, Golden Goose Theatre

by Diana Miranda After its Royal Court debut in 2020, Miriam Battye’s Scenes with Girls returns with renewed energy, this time produced by T. Regina Theatre Company. Battye’s dramedy explores a female friendship showcased in all its chaotic yet beautiful glory. We might be used to either Mean Girls venom or sanitised sisterhood-power tales, but […]

All the Worst Parts, Baron’s Court Theatre

CW: mentions of rape, sexual assault and addiction by Anne-Charlotte Gerbaud Recovery is rarely linear, and All the Worst Parts captures it as raw, painful, and unresolved. Created by Eden Theatre, this four-part play follows a young woman navigating the aftermath of sexual violence. What emerges is a layered and often unsettling portrait of trauma, […]

Mette Ingvartsen’s Skatepark, Sadler’s Wells East

by Luisa De la Concha Montes Last summer, with four years of on-and-off skateboarding experience under my belt, I keenly tuned in to watch the skateboard showcase at the 2024 Olympics. I remember feeling envious as I saw the skaters stylishly dropping from huge concrete bowls. I mentally returned to the Level in Brighton, where […]

Salty Brine: These Are The Contents Of My Head (The Annie Lennox Show), Soho Theatre

by Zahid Fayyaz The New York cabaret star returns to London after the previous success of their Smiths/Frankenstein tribute show, with this personal and sensitive show focusing on Annie Lennox, Judy Garland, as well as Kate Chopin’s groundbreaking feminist novel The Awakening. As part of his Living Record Collection project, all these elements are mixed up […]