Broken Ideal
William Blake’s poem ‘Jerusalem’ has always held a whiff of mindless patriotism, idealist fantasy and an atmosphere of ever looking backward. Made up of four questions to which the answer is a...
View ArticleIf Music be the Thing I Loved…
If there is anything that deserves to be at NSDF, it’s Facehunters. Most will agree with me when I say that the story needs a drastic re-write, but it’s hard not to be impressed by this Leeds...
View ArticleCarnage Revisited
At the back of the stage in York Drama Society’s production of God of Carnage is a chest, upon which sits a chic hourglass, full of red sand and slowly ticking away time throughout the course of the...
View ArticleRedemptive and warm theatre delivered with truth
Breman Rajkumar’s The Babysitter is fabulously vibrant and genuinely witty. Set over a night when the parents try to go out, the neurosis of their eldest daughter explodes, bringing down the rest....
View ArticleA Natural Fit
Epilepsy would not strike you as the most obvious subject for comedy. InDepth Theatre Company’s production of Breman Rajkumar’s new play, The Babysitter, is brave and human but does not always work....
View ArticleAn Obvious God
There is nothing drastically wrong with York University’s production of The God of Carnage. But plays should not leave one feeling apathetic. Yasmina Reza’s play is well acted and is, at times, quite...
View ArticleBaby Talk
Breman Rajkumar’s The Babysitter is a 100-minute romp, with a plethora of fantastic comic moments and a warm heart. Nikki, in her late teens, is angry about the way in which her parents treat her and...
View ArticleTake My Fucking Criticism
The pre-set of Facehunters is one of the best I’ve ever seen. I’m a sucker for flashing lights and loud music in theatre (maybe because I don’t go clubbing that much in real life), and as we walk into...
View ArticleThere Will Be Blood
Mercury Fur is a show that one doesn’t have a mild reaction to. Philip Ridley’s controversial script is both celebrated and chastised for its dark subject matter and New Theatre’s production doesn’t...
View ArticleButterfly Junkies: Off Balance and Stuttering
In the filth and ash of a post-apocalyptic Britain, people want a party. But not a party of convention, rather they crave a chance to explore personal lusts for violence. Nottingham New Theatre’s...
View ArticleIs This Cool? Is It? Is It Cool?
It is difficult to describe Facehunters. Think hipsters in eccentric costumes writhing energetically to psychedelic house music, some stolen souls and some tangled relationships. It is bizarre, but...
View ArticleA strong sibling relationship trying to survive a miserable world.
Mercury Fur, like many adult Ridley plays (yes, he writes for children if you haven’t yet come across him), was suitably shocking. Any cynicism about this shock being a replication of a long theatrical...
View ArticleThe Future, Now
I left Mercury Fur feeling I had travelled somewhere beyond my seat. I have rarely experienced a play so far ahead of its time. This isn’t to say I wasn’t as shaken as everyone else who saw it. I was...
View ArticleLess Than A Name
The Hungry Bitches are a prominent presence at this year’s NSDF. In nearly every workshop someone with neon hair will proclaim proudly that they are a Hungry Bitch: each member seems unbelievably loyal...
View ArticleJelly Baby Sustenance
After eating three full bags of jelly babies you have a sugary sickness in your mouth, a sort of sugary sickness that is not best complimented by running on the spot in a room lit like an eighties club...
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