BroadwayWorld.com • 29th February 2024

Review: CASTLE OF JOY, Barbican

In the dimly lit theatre, the audience is transported into the mysterious world of Castle of Joy a production by Det Ferösche Compagnie, a Faroese theatre company. Directed and written by the multi-talented Búi Dam, with Kristina Sørensen Ougaard leading the cast, this experience is as enigmatic as it is haunting.

Castle of Joy draws inspiration from the life and work of Pól Jóhannus Poulsen, also known as Joy, a figure born in 1925 in a small village in the Faroe Islands – an island off Denmar

BroadwayWorld.com • 29th February 2024

Review: A FAMILY BUSINESS, Omnibus Theatre

In a world shadowed by the persistent threat of nuclear war, A Family Business presented by China Plate and Staatstheater Mainz, delivers a poignant and immersive exploration of the human narrative behind the struggle for nuclear disarmament. Written and performed by the talented Chris Thorpe, under the deft direction of Claire O'Reilly, and developed with the creative input of Rachel Chavkin and Lekan Lawal, this production captivates from the moment you step into the theatre.

From the outset,

Theatre Weekly • 15th August 2023

Edinburgh Review: After The Act (A Section 28 Musical) at Traverse Theatre

We are taken back to 1986, where a legislative designation for a series of laws across Britain that prohibited the promotion of homosexuality by local authorities. It was called Section 28, the most hated legislation of all time introduced by Margaret Thatcher.

Performed at the New Diorama Theatre in London earlier this year; is a musical by Breach Theatre company. Live music is performed onstage at the back with electro music that transports us right back to the 80’s. Entwined with verbatim th

BroadwayWorld.com • 15th August 2023

EDINBURGH 2023: Review: VANYA IS ALIVE, @theSpace, Symposium Hall

is inspired by letters from the frontline of the Second World War written by Natalia Lizorkina and performed by Nikolai Mulakov; both from Russia and who are currently in exile due to their anti-war positions. This brave and momentous play gives us a glimpse into the life of people who breach the ‘code of silence’ in Russia.

Set in a blank, black draped studio performance venue at the Edinburgh Fringe with no set, props, costume or make up. This is a one hour, one-man show told by Mulakov who g

BroadwayWorld.com • 15th August 2023

EDINBURGH 2023: Review: #SINCE1994, Taiwan Season, Assembly Roxy

Led by all woman artists, Eye Catching Circus’ #Since1994 is not just a highly skilled display of circus acts but a message much deeper. What does It mean to be a woman and how does one navigate this in a modern society overflowing with expectation?

We are taken through the story of the various stages of a woman’s life in episodes. Told by four women and an androgynous man, the five explore emotions of desire, rage, jealousy and femininity using highly skilled acrobats and interactive performan

Mervyn Stutter's Pick of the Fringe • 14th August 2023

Mervyn Stutter's 'Pick of the Fringe'

Our team of arts professionals go out on to the Fringe to review shows, looking for the really good stuff to invite onto our 'Pick of the Fringe'. Those that are considered good enough are invited on to Mervyn's showcase but, with only 133 slots available during the run, not all the excellent shows we see get to perform for us. This year we are listing all the shows that our reviewers thought worthy of a recommendation, breaking them down into the 'HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED', and the 'EXCEPTIONA

BroadwayWorld.com • 8th August 2023

Review: FAMILY TREE, Brixton House

Stepping into the recently opened cultural beacon, Brixton House I was immediately inspired by the feeling of freshness, modernity and innovation the architecture and design had. It is welcoming, comfortable and clearly a unique space.

Family Tree, directed by Matthew Xia, is about Henrietta Lacks; a woman who made one of the greatest medical contributions after her cells were taken from a cervical-cancer biopsy. "HeLa" cells became the first immortal human cell line to reproduce infinitely in

BroadwayWorld.com • 8th August 2023

Review: BBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA WITH IAN McEWAN, Barbican Hall

In this special and one-off event led by the BBC Proms, author of Atonement and one of the finest writers of his generation, Ian McEwan collaborated with the BBC symphony Orchestra and read extracts from his own works with music curated around his readings and a special guest appearance from jazz singer Emma Smith.

We are taken on a journey through fiction and music where McEwan combines freedom and pleasure and an imagined world drifting through our senses by sound. He explores his most prolif

Theatre Weekly • 13th July 2023

Review: Cuckoo at Royal Court

Doreen and her two grown up daughters sit at the table squabbling over their lives and how to deal with her grand-daughter Megyn; the culprit of a social media crazed brainwash system that has got her so devastated about the climate crisis she has submerged herself into her room and hasn’t left for a month.

Michael Wynne’s is a living room drama examining a scouse mother-daughter-granddaughter-sister relationship and the generational impacts of their time. It is mixed with matters about the cli

Theatre Weekly • 29th June 2023

Review: Duck at Arcola Theatre

We all had those childish fantasies, when we are young, of what we wanted to be when we grew up. In written by maatin and playing at Arcola Theatre, we meet Ismail, a fifteen-year-old cricket fanatic desperate for the limelight and who is a charmer to everyone. Do we watch him reach the stars or see a dream shatter?

In this one hander and for a full 85 minutes, Ismail, acted with comedic ease by Omar Bynon, shares his story of a cricket career that wasn’t to be. The start of the play suggests a