Freelance journalist, campaigner and theatre critic.
The winners of this year’s Vault Festival Awards have been announced, after the London performing arts event was forced to close a week early. Over 2,700 artists staged 519 productions … Continue Reading Vault Festival reveals winners of Vault Festival Awards 2020
“We’re here, we’re queer and we’re mentally unclear,” sing the trio of Here and Queer Productions in the opening and closing number of their 10-minute show, a melody which is … Continue Reading ‘Here, Queer and Mentally Unclear’ online review – Queer mental health musically explored
“Where do we go from here?” As you are probably aware, most theatres have closed and cancelled performances until late April in light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. For a … Continue Reading Reviewing under review…
UK Theatre and the Society of London Theatre have launched theatresupport.info to “centralise information” about how to support the theatre industry during the coronavirus pandemic. Both organisations met with leading … Continue Reading Website launches to support theatre professionals during coronavirus outbreak
London theatres such as the National Theatre and Bush Theatre are amongst those cancelling performances this evening, as UK theatres react to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. In a briefing from … Continue Reading West End and London theatres cancel performances as coronavirus outbreak continues
★★★ Kate Goodfellow gives one of the most authentic and passionate performances I have seen in theatre in 39 Degrees, and that’s because the play is an autobiographical tale about her mental … Continue Reading ‘39 Degrees’ review – Australian bushfire experience told with searing emotion
★★★★ Viv (Katherine Parkinson) has lost her shoe. Understandable – it happens to us all. Yet in E.V. Crowe’s 65-minute play, Shoe Lady, it becomes an impressive little metaphor on continuity, … Continue Reading ‘Shoe Lady’ review – Katherine Parkinson’s musing on maintenance
★★ Becka McFadden’s staging of Closed Lands explores and breaks down borders and walls – including the fourth. Crammed into the maximum hour-long running time of a VAULT Festival show (though … Continue Reading ‘Closed Lands’ review – Migration gets gamified
★★★★ Butterfly is a queer anthology which sizzles with an electric energy. On stage, five individuals from history gather, their extraordinary stories forgotten about until this moment. Its timely staging … Continue Reading ‘Butterfly’ review – Five forgotten, queer stories flourish
★★ From the producer of Teddy Lamb’s Since U Been Gone comes another grief-themed drama at VAULT Festival. Yet while Teddy processes their grief in the form of noughties pop tracks, … Continue Reading ‘Killing It’ review – A family’s grief is hard to process
★★★ Many audience members will likely begin watching the Frantic Assembly production of I Think We Are Alone with high expectations. If they know the name, they’ll probably know the … Continue Reading ‘I Think We Are Alone’ review – Frantic Assembly’s anniversary show struggles to connect
★★★★ Everyone is waiting for something in Temi Wilkey’s emotional debut play, The High Table. Tara and Leah are waiting for the former’s parents to confirm their attendance at their … Continue Reading ‘The High Table’ review – Nigerian marriage drama is full of spirit
★★★★ A young girl in a white dress walks on stage. Dimly lit with a kind of moonlight, her body reflected by the metal, she walks around the side of … Continue Reading ‘Far Away’ review – Apocalyptic war drama is an eery assault on the senses
★★★ In its scrutiny of the unhelpful, contradictory dialogue around mental health, Wiebke Green’s stripped-back production, Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands presents a simple and familiar alternative around the link between … Continue Reading ‘Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands’ review – Mental health discourse explored in all its delicacy and intensity
★★★★ The Vaults team missed a trick by not staging this daft and surprisingly heartfelt tribute to The Killers in its Cage venue. It would, of course, be rather fitting … Continue Reading ‘Coming Out of My Cage (And I’ve Been Doing Just Fine)’ review – Killer karaoke looks on the Brightside
★★★ In its clever placing of Nora across three different moments in history, Stef Smith’s take on A Doll’s House certainly cements the play as a timeless classic – but … Continue Reading ‘Nora: A Doll’s House’ review – Ibsen’s classic transcends the centuries
