Can Mayfair’s Park Chinois combine dinner and cabaret and make it good? May 4, 2022 There are lots of things in life that could reasonably be described as ‘a lot.’ Visiting the in-laws can be ‘a lot,’ as can indulging your drunk uncle in conversation when he’s offering his take on cancel culture. Marzipan is also ‘a lot’, and so is trifle. All of these over-stimulating experiences pale by comparison [...]
Jerusalem review: Mark Rylance proves he is the leading actor of a generation in juggernaut play April 30, 2022 After Jerusalem premiered at the Royal Court in 2009 it began to generate a reputation as the greatest play of the 21st century. It’s hard to do justice to the level of prestige which has surrounded the show since; within theatre circles it is untouchable and nothing since – at least, no plays – have [...]
Prima Facie review: from Villanelle to victim, Jodie Comer is a ferocious force on stage alone April 28, 2022 Jodie Comer became one of the world’s most popular British acting exports as psychopathic predator Villanelle in Killing Eve, dispensing of victims with garden hoses, piano tuners, and dressed as a clown. In her West End debut in Prima Facie, a new play by Suzie Miller, Comer has done what all self-respecting A-Listers do when [...]
Koko founder on £70m relaunch: ‘Camden’s always gonna have edge’ April 28, 2022 Camden’s iconic Koko venue – closed for three years and the victim of a devastating fire in 2020 – finally reopens tomorrow following a £70m renovation. To put that into context, that’s one fifth of the cost the original contractor quoted for building The Shard. It’s a staggering renovation for the historical venue, which has [...]
Scandaltown review: Satire on cancel culture falls flat April 25, 2022 Imagine having three plays opening in London at once. Mike Bartlett, writer of the huge TV hit Doctor Foster, is that guy right now. Cock, starring Bridgerton’s Jonathan Bailey, is on in the West End, and he’s also commanding two of the biggest off-West End theatres with The 47th at the Old Vic and Scandaltown [...]
Cabaret review: A riot, old chum – with or without Eddie Redmayne April 21, 2022 Fresh from breaking the record for the most amount of Olivier Awards ever won by a revival, Cabaret strides confidently forwards with an excellent new cast This new revival of Cabaret had West End critics fighting to publish their five star reviews first when it first opened in November 2021. Seeing homegrown A-List talent Eddie [...]
Foals: We’re changing the macho image of hot sauce April 21, 2022 There’s a video on YouTube entitled “Colin Farrell searches for meaning in the pain of spicy wings.” In it, the ageing hunk dollops hot sauce on chicken, eats it, then squirms in pain. The 28-minute video has racked up over 3m views in a little over a month. Halfway through, host Sean Evans boasts that [...]
Immersive theatre giants Punchdrunk: ‘We want audiences to feel a sense of danger’ April 12, 2022 I’m feeling my way down a dark alleyway just wide enough to fit through. An expansive theatre set towers metres above me. Three u-turns later I’ve lost my bearings as we stop in front of a harness, rocking gently in the air. “One audience member will get taken here and come face-to-face with a God,” [...]
For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Hue Gets Too Heavy review: Vital, frenetic storytelling April 12, 2022 Ryan Calais Cameron’s urgent new play is a worthy bedfellow to the seminal theatre show which inspired its name, 1970s breakthrough piece For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf. It features seven men on stage in a set up that’s something like a group therapy session, with the men [...]
Daddy review: Queer ecstasy and vulnerability in ambitious play with uneven script  April 8, 2022 Wearing Versace as he greets ticket holders outside the Almeida theatre, Jeremy O’Harris looks and acts like the star playwright he’s fast becoming. He has the cultural cache to boot: He’s the burgeoning writer who consulted on the script for Euphoria and broke onto Broadway with the controversial Slave Play, nominated for Best Play at [...]