Coming up at The Actors' Church is a brilliant double bill presented by the renowned Pegasus Opera, who, as you may know, are dedicated to presenting productions with ethnically diverse casts. It's a well balanced pairing, one comedic, one more serious in tone, and are both very much female-focused.
I spoke to the company's artistic director, soprano Alison Buchanan, who also performs in the show, to find out more. Read the interview here.
'Ruth' and 'The Dark Lady of the Sonnets' are performed from 28 Feb-2 Mar and on 4 Mar at The Actors' Church. See this page here for more information and to book your tickets.
LIZAN MITCHELL: DEAD AND BREATHING
Currently showing at The Albany is the European premiere of 'Dead and Breathing' by US writer Chisa Hutchinson, which is described as "an unexpectedly funny tale of morality and mortality that pits the right to die against the right to live on your own terms".
The show stars Kim Tatum, aka Mz Kimberley, who you might recently have seen on ITV's 'Transformation Street', and screen and stage veteran, Lizan Mitchell, known for her appearances on such shows as 'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt' and 'Law and Order'.
I had a quick chat with Lizan, to find out a bit more about the play. Read the interview here.
'Dead And Breathing' is on at The Albany until 3 Mar, see the venue website here for information and to book.
FRIDAY 23 FEBRUARY 2018 >>
Pippin | Southwark Playhouse | 23 Feb-24 Mar
Stephen Schwartz's well loved 1972 musical gets an airing over at Southwark Playhouse, five years since it was last staged in the capital, according to the blurb. If you're not familiar with it, it tells the story of a prince - the titular Pippin - and his father Charlemagne, who, historians may have spotted, are based on real characters from the middle ages. Though, the story the show tells is fictional, and doesn't carry the historical theme through it. Anyway, definitely worth checking out, see the venue website here for more.
MacBeth | Wilton's Music Hall | 23 Feb-17 Mar (pictured)
Well, this won't be your average MacBeth because it's a dance theatre adaptation of the classic Shakespeare yarn, from the brilliant Mark Bruce Company, so, you know, it will be brilliant. Exploring the well worn tale of the protagonists' descent into darkness and self-destruction, this piece promises to be "a beautifully harrowing vision of an internal wasteland formed from the pursuit of power through ruthless means". Click here for all the details and to book your tickets quickly because they're going fast.
I Have A Bad Feeling About This | Vault Festival | 21-25 Feb
"Alice is newly married, has quit her job and moved to Berkhamsted and it's the best thing she's ever done! She is going to be the woman she's always wanted to be. She's going to leave her self-loathing and destructive old friend anxiety firmly behind her and make NEW friends and they will LOVE the new her. BUT... her old friend has other ideas. Will she win the battle and leave anxiety behind forever?" TW faves House Of Blakewell return to Vault with a no-doubt-brilliant new show. See this page here for info.
SATURDAY 24 FEBRUARY 2018 >>
The Story Beast - Myth Monsters and Mayhem | Vault Festival | 24-25 Feb (pictured)
Hurrah, it's the weekend, so here's one for your youngsters (wow, I must be getting old if I have started to use the word youngsters) and it's a super goodie. The entirely fab and much critically acclaimed Story Beast presents a fab collection of "hairy and ever-so-slightly scary" tales for your delectation, so expect poems and songs featuring Bears, Evil Little Sisters, Dragons and wizards. All the details are here.
Frankenstein | The Space | 20 Feb-10 Mar
"In the darkness of night, Elizabeth Frankenstein manages the unthinkable - creating sentient life. As the resulting monster is shunned by her maker, she is cast out into the violent and unfeeling world beyond. But a terrible chain of murder and horror is unleashed, both creation and creator must come face to face in a final, terrible showdown". Another Frankenstein for you (we recommended that library one not so long ago, if you remember), perhaps because it's the 200th anniversary of the first publication of the novel. Whatever the reason, this looks like it will be a great adaptation, head this way for info.
Borderline | Vault Festival | 24 Feb
I know we're always talking about edfringe here at TW Towers, but that's because we love it, and we love it because it's full of stuff we've never seen before, and we always tell our readers up there to go and see something or someone brand new or there's just no point. And for similar reasons I choose this show from the Vault Festival: Amelia Stubberfield's debut solo show, which promises "a comic tale of living life on the edge and trying not to fall off" and an exploration of mental health, queer identities, and what it is to be different. Sounds excellent. Click here for more.
SUNDAY 25 FEBRUARY 2018 >>
Europe On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown | Old Red Lion | 25-26 Feb
You might remember a recommendation we made for you in May of last year, of '6 Vitelloni', a collection of plays paying homage to the work of Federico Fellini? Well, if that appealed, perhaps this, the next event in what looks like it's becoming a series, will also find favour. This time you can look forward to six short plays inspired by the work of Pedro Almodóvar. For details, see the venue website here.
Garrett Millerick - Something Old Something New Something Borrowed Something Blue | Vault Festival | 25 Feb (pictured)
"Sensible answers to stupid questions, bar stool philosophy and subjects you'd normally discuss with a cab driver. Things you never realised were annoying, analysed in detail you never thought necessary". He's a definite, long-term, TW favourite, and there's a very solid reason for that, so don't miss this great Vault-based opportunity to see this super-skilled stand-up in action. More information right about here.
Jordan Brookes And Dan Antopolski Work-In-Progress | Vault Festival | 24 Feb-3 Mar
And so to some other TW favourites, one long term, like the aforementioned Garrett Millerick, the second a more recent addition. In any case, these are both exceptionally talented comedians, and I'd suggest that this is definitely not the time to be put off by the fact that it's a work in progress. You get to see two class acts exhibiting their freshest material, for the price of one ticket. Who wouldn't want that? Head this way.
MONDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2018 >>
Fine And Dandy | Arcola Theatre | 26 Feb-2 Mar
Part of the venue's Creative/Disruption 18 season, presented by Arcola's Queer Collective, and written by Sue Frumin, 'Fine And Dandy' is about Jewish refugee Ernest/Ernestine Faigele Fine, "a singer of cheap ballads and weary tunes, inventor of the worst magic acts in history, a clog dancer of no particular skill and a wandering Jew at the turn of the 20th Century". See the venue website here for details of this show, and here for other events in the season.
Muriel - Bad Master | Soho Theatre | 26 Feb-3 Mar
This show did well up at the edfringe last summer, which is how I knew about it, and is a sketch comedy show starring a trio of talented comedians/actors, Janine Harouni, Meg Salter and Sally O'Leary. Of course, you may already have been aware of Muriel even before that, because of their online presence - you've probably seen some of their viral successes, like that 'political Bake Off' skit. Anyway, head this way to book.
Trust | Gate Theatre | 22 Feb-17 Mar (pictured)
"Lea and Stefan are in a relationship. It's been 10 years or maybe it's been 14, but they've got a mortgage and 'settled down'. The trouble is, they don't trust each other anymore. Was it that one of them spent their food budget on smartphone apps or was it that one of them sold their flat to 7 different buyers, or was it that one of them borrowed 6 billion and never paid it back? Meanwhile, a voice on the radio sings you need more, you need more, you need more". A production of acclaimed German playwright Falk Richter's 2009 play exploring broken relationships and the tyranny of capitalism. See this page here for more.
TUESDAY 27 FEBRUARY 2018 >>
Hilda And Virginia | Jermyn Street Theatre | 27 feb-3 Mar
A double bill of two plays by veteran writer and activist Maureen Duffy, telling the stories of two remarkable (and real) women: seventh century abbess Hilda of Whitby, who brought Christianity to the Anglo-Saxons, and was a teacher and adviser to kings; and a more recent name, Virginia Woolf, who, in 'A Nightingale In Bloomsbury Square', looks back on her life, revealing the tortured backdrop behind her successful works. See the venue website here for details.
Electra | The Bunker Theatre | 27 Feb-24 Mar
"A Mother clings to power whilst her Daughter screams murder. An estranged Son is coming home. A bloody family saga sprawling decades is about to reach its conclusion. Everything is about to change". The award winning Dumbwise Theatre present this reinvention of the Greek myth, in trademark actor-musician style, a "modern epic" featuring a live punk-rock score. Sounds rather exciting, doesn't it? See this page here for information and to book.
Ballistic | King's Head Theatre | 27 Feb-17 Mar (pictured)
Another of those Edinburgh transfers for you now, a hard-hitting piece of new writing inspired by the 'manifesto' of campus shooter Elliot Rodgers. As you might expect, the play explores how a young man who feels like he's failing at life ends up steeped in the most toxic manifestations of masculinity, inspired by violent media, and the company he keeps on the internet. This has won much praise, so don't miss it, book your tickets here.
WEDNESDAY 28 FEBRUARY 2018 >>
Stegosaurus | Vault Festival | 28 Feb-4 Mar
This piece written by Ersi Niaoti and starring Elpida Stathatou won acclaim at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and now makes its way to Vault Festival with lots of stars to its credit. It's a truly dark drama, focusing as it does on the experiences of a divorced woman of 30 - whose life becomes dominated by bulimic binging, anorexic starvation, drug misuse, rough sex - and explores our relationship with food, social attitudes towards body image and sexuality and myths about eating disorders. Details here.
Not I | Battersea Arts Centre | 28 Feb-17 Mar (pictured)
It's not the first time this has been on, and it may not be the first time we've tipped it, but it's always going to be worth seeing, for those of you who have already seen it, but especially for those of you who haven't. Jess Thom, who has Tourettes, and who you'll recognise from the hugely acclaimed 'Backstage In Biscuit Land', performs Samuel Beckett's short play, using it to explore neurodiversity, and ask "who is allowed to perform what and who gets the final say". Click here for more.
Ruth & The Dark Lady Of Sonnets | The Actors' Church | 28 Feb-2 Mar + 4 Mar
The excellent Pegasus Opera offer a double bill of two pieces by New York composer Philip Hagemann. 'Ruth' is based on the biblical book of the same name and tells an epic tale of loyalty, sacrifice and kindness, while 'The Dark Lady Of The Sonnets' is based on the short comedy by George Bernard Shaw, in which Shakespeare himself encounters Queen Elizabeth while pursuing an affair with a lady of the court. For information and link to booking, see this page here.
THURSDAY 1 MARCH 2018 >>
Das Fest | Vault Festival | 28 Feb-4 Mar
Theatrical illusionist Philipp Oberlohr ('Austria's Derren Brown') presents this sequel to previous, interactive show 'Das Spiel', which won the People's Choice Award at Vault in 2016. It's a mind-reading show, yes, but it will also include storytelling, live art, clowning, and physical theatre, so just expect an all-round super-absorbing and entertaining experience. Find all the details right about here.
The Game Of Love And Chai | Tara Theatre | 28 Feb-4 Mar (pictured)
"Kamala wants her daughter Rani to marry successful but emotionally awkward businessman Raj. Rani bristles at going down the conventional route and arranges a test for Raj. She convinces her cousin Sita to swap places and pretend to be the suitable bride - unaware that Raj has come up with the same scheme with his driver, Nitin!" An updated version of Pierre de Marivaux's eighteenth century romantic comedy, focusing on a modern Asian family in the UK. Looks like tickets are selling quickly, so head this way to book ASAP.
Father Of Lies | Vault Festival | 28 Feb-4 Mar
And another show from Vault Festival (well, there's too much good stuff on, we just can't resist) this time a 'true crime' themed piece that tells the the chilling tale behind a mysterious, unsolved murder in West Germany in 1973 and promises a "thrilling, twisting tale of haunted priests, jealous widowers and satanic cults". Yikes, but yes, go on then. More information on the festival website here.
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