Written for http://exeuntmagazine.com There’s a lot of testosterone boiling under the roof of the new Arcola as two short works by David Mamet are staged in a double bill. Lakeboat and Prairie du Chien are intriguing companion pieces; written early on in Mamet’s career both are embryonic works but their paring throws up no direct connection, apart from the fact [...]
Posts Tagged ‘The Arcola’
Lakeboat and Prairie du Chien @ The Arcola
Posted in Reviews, tagged David Mamet, Lakeboat and Prairie du Chien, The Arcola on April 25, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Review: The Country
Posted in Reviews, tagged Amelia Nicholson, Martin Crimp, The Arcola, The Country on October 8, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Written for What’s On Stage The Country is a taut psychological domestic horror here performed with cutting elegance in Amelia Nicholson’s intelligent production. New country doctor Richard has brought an unconscious woman home, ostensibly under honourable pretences. His wife Corinne remains unconvinced and when the predator like Rebecca awakens dark truths are revealed. All the [...]
Review: Light Shining In Buckinghamshire
Posted in Reviews, tagged Caryl Churchill, Helen Lymbery, Kobna Holdbrook Smith, Light Shining In Buckinghamshire, Michelle Terry, Polly Findlay, The Arcola on July 21, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
In his book State Of The Nation: British Theatre since 1945, Michael Billington mentions a number of plays which, whilst seminal at the time, have not as he gracefully puts it ‘aged well’. He posits Caryl Churchill’s 1976 play Light Shining In Buckinghamshire as one of the few exceptions to this rule; so why then [...]
Knives In Hens – another hit for the Arcola
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Blackbird, David Harrower, Hannah Clark, Jodie McNee, Knives In Hens, Maria Rijo, Nathaniel Martello-White, Phil Cheadle Gilbert, Serdar Bilis, The Arcola on February 17, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Written for What’s On Stage The title of David Harrower’s 1995 debut Knives in Hens is an acutely powerful one prompting a reaction in people that cuts through understanding to a basic human shudder. It is a response that is in keeping with this play, where the written word is made sacred and the divine [...]
The Line – argue, make up, repeat.
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Edgar Degas, The Arcola, The Line, Timberlake Wertenbaker on December 1, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Timberlake Wertenbaker’s The Line should to all intents and purposes be an engaging and enthralling drama. Based on the tempestuous relationship of a fiery and sexy woman and her infamous teacher, Edgar Degas, The Line could have been a vibrant and passionate exploration of the master, pupil relationship or furthermore questioned the ideas of art [...]
Origin of The Species at The Arcola
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Bryony Lavery, Clare-Hope Ashitey, Marjorie Yates, Origin of The Species, The Arcola, The Olduvai Gorge, Tom Littler on November 5, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Bryony Lavery’s unique voice rings out clearly in this richly feminine exploration into the origin of the species. A fantastical hybrid of past, present and future, her two protagonists, Molly and Victoria, meet in extraordinary circumstances and form a bond which spans mother and daughter, teacher and pupil, ancestor and progeny. Lavery’s piece succeeds magnificently [...]
