Coming up at the Old Red Lion Theatre is a production of a new play by Catherine Lucie, 'The Moor'. It's a psychological thriller with themes of loss and grief, and how we deal with loneliness, and I think it sounds fascinating.
To find out more about the show, and the creative team involved in bringing it to the stage, I arranged to have a quick chat with director Blythe Stewart. Read the interview here.
'The Moor' is on at the Old Red Lion Theatre from 6 Feb-3 March, see the venue website here for information and to book tickets.
JOSIE DALE-JONES: ME & MY BEE
ThisEgg's Edinburgh Fringe hit 'Me & My Bee' has a great long tour on the agenda, and luckily for Londoners, it includes more than one stop in the capital. It's a family show about how we need to do more to help our own environment, described by our very impressed reviewer as "totally unpredictable and engrossing".
To find out more about the show, and the brains behind it, I spoke to producer, creator and performer Josie Dale-Jones. Read the interview here.
Me & My Bee' is on at Southbank Centre from 10-12 Feb, but returns to London on a number of occasions in the upcoming months as part of its UK tour. See this page here for the upcoming shows, and a full list of tour dates here.
FRIDAY 2 FEBRUARY 2018 >>
Medea Electronica | Ovalhouse | 30 Jan-10 Feb (pictured)
Pecho Mama, a new company described as "genre-defying", present their production of Euripides' savage tragedy, which is a gig theatre version, set in the 1980s, and therefore featuring an original mash-up of contemporary electronica and 80s inspired prog rock. Certainly looks like this will be a fairly novel take on a classic. See this page here for all the info.
Angels With Dirty Accents | The Cockpit | 31 Jan-17 Feb
"They are everywhere... they infect our streets like lice. A disease that scurries around our bins and alleyways. Spreading fear, crime and anarchy on an unprecedented scale. Our citizens live in fear; trapped patrons and long suffering pioneers of democracy. Constantly being pestered and heckled by filth ridden renegades of our communities. Drop outs, losers, perverts and paedophiles... I am of course, talking about angels". I'm intrigued by the sound of this black comedy from RKID Productions. If you are too, see this page here.
Masood Boomgaard - African Indian | Leicester Square Theatre | 2-3 Feb
South African comedian Masood Boomgaard is a big name in his native country, rather than here, which is possibly why I don't know an enormous amount about him, though I have watched him in action on the old YouTubes. Anyway, he seems like an act with a lot of interesting perspectives to offer, not least his take on the 'first world' and the 'third world', as someone who has lived in both developed and developing countries. Head this way for details.
SATURDAY 3 FEBRUARY 2018 >>
Revolution | Vault Festival | 24 Jan-18 Mar
Right, in honour of the Vault Festival being so darned brilliant, I have decreed that today we shall spend the whole day there. Well, all the tips will be for shows on there. You are of course welcome to just see one, then go home. Anyway, here's the first one, this excellent interactive and immersive piece is set in London, where three rival factions fight for control of a post-revolution capital. Sounds exciting, doesn't it? Head this way for more.
One Duck Down | Vault Festival | 3-18 Feb
"Our unlikely but lovable hero Billy, is prepared to venture to the ends of the earth to win the affections of his sweetheart. Little did he know he'd be set the tremendous task of finding the elusive nautical treasure... Rubber Ducks?!" Hurrah, one for all the family, inspired by the true story of when 7000 Rubber Ducks got cast adrift in a storm, featuring music, clowning and puppetry. See this page here for details.
Becoming Shades | Vault Festival | 24 Jan-18 Mar (pictured)
If you've been to shows at the Vault Festival before, you may well have seen this already, because it was on back in 2016. The fact that it's returning is testament to its quality, and I expect if you have seen it before, you might be up for seeing it again. If you haven't, now is your chance to take in this dark and immersive circus piece re-imagining Persephone's presumed seduction by Hades. Head this way for info and to book tickets.
SUNDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2018 >>
Happiness Ltd | New Diorama | 4-5 Feb
"When video game designer Vi broke up with Becky, she used what she knew. She wrote herself a list. A list of the little things. The everyday things. The achievable things. She turned piecing herself back together into a game. Just for her. When her rambunctious colleague Tyler begins to play along, however, he sees an opportunity. Not just to make money but perhaps to rid the world of clinical depression once and for all". A new, humorous play taking a look at ambition and how we measure the success of a life. Info here.
Cyril's Success | Finborough Theatre | 4-10 Feb SMT
The Finborough are celebrating 150 years of the Finborough Theatre building with a selection of plays from 1868. 'Cyril's Success' by playwright and local resident Henry J. Byron has not been staged since 1890, and tells the story of a young playwright at the start of a glittering career, who finds that his newly won fame and fortune takes a toll on his marriage to a loving and supportive spouse. For all the details see this page here.
Love Songs | Camden People's Theatre | 4 Feb (pictured)
A work-in-progress from CPT's short The Shape Of Things To Come season. It's a one woman show exploring the personal and political aspects of our love lives, promising to provide a "cautionary guidebook on how to navigate the millennial dating scene". Expect all this to be delivered via a mixture of music rap and spoken word that will break your heart as well as making you laugh. Head this way for more.
MONDAY 5 FEBRUARY 2018 >>
King Lear Retold | Greenwich Theatre | 5-6 Feb
As you might gather from the title, this is a retelling of the King Lear story, from the enormously talented storyteller Debs Newbold. If you're a follower of her work, then you will no doubt be aware that this isn't the only show in which she's tackled Shakespeare - she's also performed versions of 'Romeo and Juliet' and 'MacBeth' - and if you haven't seen her 'Lear' yet, you'll be feeling very happy about this opportunity to do so. Head this way for details.
Nick Mohammed - Characters | Soho Theatre | 5-10 Feb
The excellent Nick Mohammed is about to voice a lead character in an upcoming Disney feature and also to play a regular role in the new BBC/Netflix series 'Collateral', and is frankly always popping up on TV screens, so I am surprised he has time for a run at Soho Theatre. But he does, you lucky lot, so don't waste time, hie ye hence to this page here to book your tickets before they all disappear.
Gein's Family Giftshop - Volume 3 | Soho Theatre | 5-10 Feb
Sticking with the Soho Theatre, now, because we just can't stay away, especially when a TW favourite like Gein's is headed there. "This talented cast establish their own characters as personalities running through the show, and share the limelight through cracking lines, silly mime and comic timing", wrote our reviewer of Volume 2. "It's top quality fooling, but they're clearly no idiots". Click here for info.
TUESDAY 6 FEBRUARY 2018 >>
It's Not Cute Anymore | Theatre503 | 6-10 Feb (pictured)
Soho Young Writers' Programme alumnae Clare Hoey and Bel Knight present and perform their first full length collaboration, which compares the consequences of pursuing your dreams with the dignity of just giving up. Expect an exploration of desperation, rejection, and misplaced entitlement, told via the medium of animation, interviews, and filmed flashbacks. For information and to book your tickets, head right this way.
Screaming Secrets | Tristan Bates Theatre | 31 Jan-24 Feb
"What do we do when we're faced with our own mortality? How do we tell our family and friends and what should we do with the time that's left? These are the questions that face philosopher and free thinker Antonio as he discovers, by accident, at his own birthday party, that he's not as healthy as he thinks". A production of Alexander Matthews' 2001 play exploring the human need to be understood and appreciated. See this page here for more.
Theatre In The Dark | Battersea Arts Centre | 6-9 Feb
To mark the twenty year anniversary of their 1998 Playing In The Dark season, and the recent publication of 'Theatre in the Dark: Shadow, Gloom and Blackout in Contemporary Theatre', a book from Adam Alston and Martin Welton focusing on theatre practice that eliminates or obscures light, Battersea Arts Centre present a week of Theatre In The Dark. See this page here for links to each event.
WEDNESDAY 7 FEBRUARY 2018 >>
The Drill | Battersea Arts Centre | 5-17 Feb
Multimedia theatre makers Breach present another show mixing a variety of forms - documentary film, devised theatre and audience interaction - this one taking a critical look at emergency preparedness scenarios to consider today's anxieties around security and terrorism. Expect a strong and searching exploration of the subject from this award winning company. See the venue website here for more information and to book tickets.
Somewhere A Gunner Fires | King's Head Theatre | 6-24 Feb (pictured)
"In the final months of the First World War, as the gears of the Great War machine grind inexorably to a halt, as the snows thaw, and the troops desert - six stories reach their end. The volunteer, the girl in the blitz; the builder, the tailor, the American objector; the officer who can never live down his mistakes - survivors in a world gone mad". This is described as a "First World War play for those who hate First World War plays" but I expect if you do like First World War plays, there's a high chance you'll like this too. See this page here for more.
The Moor | Old Red Lion Theatre | 6 Feb-3 Mar
A tense psychological thriller courtesy of Rive Productions, written by Catherine Lucie and directed by Blythe Stewart. Bronagh has lived on the moors for as long as she can remember, but her life is disturbed, initially by disquieting dreams, seemingly the herald of what's to come: a murder investigation in which she and her boyfriend become entangled. Head this way for all the details.
THURSDAY 8 FEBRUARY 2018 >>
Monolog | Chickenshed | 6 Feb-3 Mar (pictured)
A set of two monologues over at Chickenshed, the first being Alan Bennet's well known play 'Her Big Chance', about Lesley, who is looking forward to performing in a new film for the European market, which may not quite be what she thinks it is. The second is 'This Is Me' by Diane Samuels (of 'Kindertransport' renown), a newly commissioned autobiographical piece with an interesting approach, which invites the audience to be part of the story. See this page here for more info.
Hannah Gadsby - Nanette | Soho Theatre | 5 Feb-3 Mar
I think it's entirely possible that the last time I recommended this show that I exhorted you to go and see it on account of its very probably being one of the last chances you would have to see brilliant stand-up Hannah Gadsby doing what she does so brilliantly, as she announced she would be retiring from stand up early last year. So, maybe this really probably is your last chance - this time - to see this amazing award scooping show, so, get to it, head right this way to book.
Catherine And Anita | King's Head Theatre | 7-24 Feb
"All hell breaks loose when a tortured young misfit named Catherine strikes up a friendship with the mysterious Anita. As their unlikely relationship develops, their world escalates into a violent cycle of destruction and revenge". A dark comedy about heartbreak, illness and slipping through life's cracks, which won much acclaim at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2017. All the details are here.
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