YOUR GUIDE TO THIS WEEK IN CULTURE
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Comedy Dance & Physical Festivals Musicals Theatre ThisWeek In London
Threes To See 21-27 May: Runs Starting This Week, Shorter Runs, Soho Shows
By TW Editorial | Published on Friday 17 May 2019
THREE RUNS STARTING THIS WEEK
Dead Dog In A Suitcase (And Other Love Songs) | Lyric Hammersmith | 21 May-15 Jun
“Mayor Goodman’s been assassinated. And so has his dog. MacHeath the contract killer is dangerously on the loose. What the hell is the world coming to?” The very excellent KneeHigh, back at the Lyric with their critically acclaimed reworking of John Gay’s ‘The Beggar’s Opera’. For information and to book, head right this way.
The Glass Menagerie | Arcola Theatre | 23 May-13 Jul (pictured)
“Summer, 1937. Austerity turns up the pressure on the people of St Louis, for none more so than its African American community. Crowded amongst the tenements, Amanda Wingfield demands that her two children will lead a better life.” Another staging of a classic, this one Tenessee Williams’ universally themed piece, directed by Femi Elufowoju. Sounds really excellent, head this way for more.
Blueprint Medea | Finborough Theatre | 21 May-8 June
Another classic in play, though this time it’s only “loosely inspired” by the original, and based on interviews with Kurdish fighters living in the UK: “Kurdish freedom fighter Medea escapes the Turkish military and arrives at UK Border Control on a forged passport. Slipping through immigration, Medea discovers how to exist on the margins of London life.” See the venue website here for details.
THREE SHORTER RUNS
Science Fiction Theatre Festival | Pleasance Theatre | 27 May-1 Jun
Good news for fans of science and culture involving it: Horatio Productions serves up what’s described as a “futuristic extravaganza”, internationally sourced, comprising sixteen short plays, talks with scientists, new writing and the flagship event, the play, ‘Regen’, which explores the future of stem cell research. For details see the venue website here, or the festival website here.
Calm Down Dear: Not Four Girls | Camden People’s Theatre | 27 May
And hurrah, one of my favourite CPT strands of the calendar kicks off this week: As you may already be entirely aware, Calm Down Dear is the venue’s festival of interesting, adventurous and outspoken feminist, and this is my first pick from it. I pretty much guarantee there will be more. Anyway: “Big Mess are on a quest to unleash their inner dancer. Come and see them take their first steps into the world of performance in their new comedy show.” More here.
Gravel Heart | The Bunker Theatre | 25-29 May (pictured)
I think this sounds rather interesting, and I reckon you will too: “This adaptation of Shakespeare’s most complex comedy combines original verse with new text.’Measure for Measure’ becomes Gravel Heart, a modern love story that grapples with prejudice and puritanism. Against a backdrop of corporate greed, Angelo and Isabella are drawn together in a fight for justice.” Info right about here.
THREE SOHO SHOWS
Chris McCausland: Speaky Blinder | Soho Theatre | 23-25 May (pictured)
Yep, we’re love bombing the lovely Soho Theatre this week because there are so many great shows on there at the moment. We start with the excellent Chris McCausland, who stayed in the flat right next to the TW flat during the Edinburgh Festival one time. That has no relevance, obv, but this does: “He’s blind. He’s a dad. He’s a husband. He’s third in command. He’ll speaky about all of that, and loads more.” Info here.
Does My Bomb Look Big In This | Soho Theatre | 21 May-8 Jun
Next is a show that we actually already tipped relatively recently, when it was on at Tara Theatre, but we can’t resist mentioned it again now that it’s on at a theatre that may be nearer to you than Tara Theatre, depending of which part of London you live in. Anyway, it tackles interesting and topical themes: “When schoolgirl Yasmin leaves her South London home for the promise of a better life in Syria, her best friend Aisha is left to pick up the pieces.” Details on this page here.
Rob Auton: The Talk Show | Soho Theatre | 21-25 May
“Following on from his shows about hair, sleep, water, faces, the sky and the colour yellow, Rob now turns his attention to talking because he is ready to talk about talking.” A very much long term TW favourite that pretty much every TW staff member agrees on. If you’ve not yet seen one of his shows, you are seriously missing out. So if you don’t go and see this one, right away, I’ll be very cross. Head right this way.
