Gregory Doran’s clearly got big plans for the Henriad. 2013’s Richard II charted a descent from majesty. Although Henry IV Part One opens with the solemn procession of the King’s men fresh from the crusades, it is clear throughout that Doran wishes to portray the struggle from the pits of Eastcheap to an earned, rather than stolen, monarchy. The imagery of an usurped Richard is invoked constantly, including a very literal ghost watching Henry’s coronation within the first sequence on stage.
Dogs Don’t Do Ballet is a charming tale of a young girl, Anna, and her dog, Biff, who longs to be a ballet dancer, but is constantly told “Dogs don’t do Ballet!”. The production is based on the book ‘Dogs Don’t Do Ballet’ which is written by Anna Kemp and cheerily illustrated by Sara Ogilvie. Dogs Don’t Do Ballet is a Little Angel production, directed by David Duffy and performed by Ronnie Le Drew and Andrea Sadler. I saw this show at The Bowler Hat, a pop up venue in Paternoster Square near St Paul’s Cathedral which was surprisingly spacious and comfortable on a hot London day.
“It’s the most curious thing I’ve ever seen in my life!” Poppy Burton-Morgan’s production of Alice, adapted from the much beloved book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, really was one of the more curious plays I have set out to see, but how can you possibly recreate Carroll’s amazing world without being curious yourself? The pure imagination, creativity and skill that went into piecing together this performance was worthy of Carroll himself, and had the feel as if it had all just slipped off the page and onto the stage.
We’ve all grown accustomed to the goal celebrations of footballing legends of both past and present. From buoyant backflips, to jovial choreographed routines, nations rise as team players affirm footballing status. As youngsters, footballing ranks as one of the most aspirational professions to pursue; a chance to showcase to the world how talented you are as a sports personality. Prized and celebrated both nationally and world wide, there’s no disputing the power of football.
Billed as a contemporary African mystery play, The Legend of Hamba, by the UK’s leading African theatre company Tiata Fahodzi is an ephemeral piece of outdoor physical theatre. As part of the Greenwich and Docklands International Festival, the regal locale of the Old Royal Naval College is fitting for a story about the mixed fortunes of a King who loses his crown and is forced into exile.
With success at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, it was only a matter of time before award winning playwright, Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti would see her timely play, Khandan transfer to London’s Royal Court Theatre. A timely piece of theatre looking at family, relationships, generational ideals and cultural clashes, it’s no wonder Khandan has received acclaim both with their audiences and reviewers alike. Khandan plays until Saturday 28th June, and Theatrefullstop was lucky enough to speak to one of it’s stars, Rez Kempton about playing the ambitious Pal!
If you get a chance to go down to Greenwich during this week and catch some of the performances of the Greenwich+Docklands International Festival I compel you to not miss that opportunity. It is a wonderful initiative where you are exposed to a number of different companies producing short outdoor performances of mostly physical theatre/dance and acrobatics – free of charge for everyone.
Presented as part of the LIFT festival 2014, Belarus Free Theatre return after a successful run with their show Trash Cuisine and with them bring the thought-provoking ‘Red Forest’. Focusing on the issue of man-made destruction, the production follows protagonist Aisha as she travels the world in the search of safety for herself and her daughter.
Note: This show was a staged reading of a work in progress, after only a day of rehearsals.
After Rikki Beadle-Blair’s energetic introduction, the audience were thrust into the show, ‘Jamaica Boy’. Surrounding the cast on stage was an audience being brought into the process of writing a play. ‘Jamaica Boy’ is far from finished, but once it has been polished this play has the potential to become a real diamond of a piece.
The 20th June witnessed the start of the Greenwich and Docklands International Festival 2014. Throughout the day various sound checks and rehearsals attracted muted attention, but nothing compared to the enthusiastic turn out for Acrojou‘s outdoor show, ‘Frantic’.
Theatrefullstop 