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Frank's Closet at Union Theatre
13 Mar
Reviews
Stuart King

Review: FRANK’S CLOSET at Union Theatre

The Union Theatre, Sasha Regan’s powerhouse south London fringe venue, continues to churn-out season after season of work, usually a blend of classics, revamped musicals and productions which sometimes do their best to defy labelling. These are often achieved with minimal budgets, grit, determination and a great deal of goodwill, enthusiasm and energy from the creative teams. Long may the venue continue to draw-in audiences.

Frank's Closet at Union TheatreFrank's Closet at The Union Theatre

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The Cast of For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy at the Garrick Theatre
08 Mar
Reviews
Stuart King

Review: FOR BLACK BOYS... at The Garrick Theatre

Created by Ryan Calais Cameron and originally presented at the New Diorama Theatre, For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy was inspired by Ntozake Shange’s seminal choreopoem For Coloured Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When The Rainbow Is Enuf and went through various iterations during its 12 years in development. Its format (6 black guys who interact through dialogue, song and movement) acts as a simple vehicle for presenting some weighty subjects disguised by a slick, stylish and playful delivery.

The Cast of For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy at the Garrick TheatreThe Cast of For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy at the Garrick Theatre.

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Markus Sodergren and Shelley Rivers in Marry Me A Little. Photo Peter Davies
02 Mar
Reviews
Stuart King

Review: MARRY ME A LITTLE at The Stage Door Theatre, Drury Lane

It is perhaps a testament to the extraordinary genius of Stephen Sondheim, that to create MARRY ME A LITTLE, it was merely necessary to conjure a song cycle from elements he’d culled from the final versions of Follies, Company, and A Little Night Music among others. These disparate leftovers were honed into a simple show by Craig Lucas and Norman René which despite its lack of any dialogue or obvious narrative thread had a brief off-Broadway run back in 1980.

Markus Sodergren and Shelley Rivers in Marry Me A Little. Photo Peter DaviesMarkus Sodergren and Shelley Rivers in Marry Me A Little at The Stage Door Theatre, Drury Lane. Photo Peter Davies

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Company of Standing at the Sky’s Edge © Johan Persson
29 Feb
Reviews
Stuart King

Review: STANDING AT THE SKY’S EDGE at Gillian Lynne Theatre

Set on the once notorious Park Hill Housing Estate in Sheffield, this wonderful musical production is the very essence of community spirit, requiring a dynamic creative group effort during its development stages to reach fruition. The result is a show which literally shines bright at every performance.

Company of Standing at the Sky’s Edge © Johan PerssonCompany of Standing at the Sky’s Edge © Johan Persson

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John Heffernan & Jenna Augen in Nachtland at Young Vic © Ellie Kurtt
28 Feb
Reviews
Stuart King

Review: NACHTLAND at Young Vic

Boasting a cast of 6 accomplished performers and a painting purported to be by Hitler, Marius von Mayenburg’s NACHTLAND (with a translation by Mara Zade) is one of those plays which becomes evermore difficult to categorise as one considers the sometimes baffling elements from which it has been constituted. Perhaps… funny satire with considerable potential to trigger, will suffice.

John Heffernan & Jenna Augen in Nachtland at Young Vic © Ellie Kurtt John Heffernan & Jenna Augen in Nachtland at Young Vic © Ellie Kurtt

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