Charlie Wilks - Page 10

Snow isn't yet falling all around us. And I haven't seen the Coca Cola truck stopping by. But John Lewis has released their advert, so I suppose it's beginning to look a little like Christmas. Full of it's own individual kind of holiday cheer, Anthony Neilson's winter tale is revived at Southwark Playhouse.

Lucy Pearman is a comedienne that's unfamiliar to me, but after watching their stellar show Fruit Loop the other evening, they are now cemented in my brain as someone very special. The reason I like her so much is because her show feels totally unique to anything that I've seen before.

Something wicked has arrived in the West End. It comes in the form of the National Youth Theatre REP Company's production of Macbeth, which has been abridged beautifully by Moira Buffini. Shakespeare's epic tale has been condensed down to 100 minutes, and is jam-packed with lots of things that entertain and thrill.

Iona wants to be happy. After years of ridicule and childhood trauma she desperately seeks refuge in a more vibrant place than where she's at right now. She wants out. Her destination of choice: London - a place that's apparently the home to her estranged father. She's convinced that he'll put her up, and her and best mate Pingu will become celebrity radio DJ's overnight.

Made in China present their solo show about anxiety. In it Jessica Latowicki performs a monologue that quickly descends into chaos. The text, which has been dramaturged by Tim Cowbury, is a mixture of fun, comedy and intense emotion. It's solid, if a little too long, but does well to get across the point.

It's the end of the world, or alternatively, the start of a brand new one, and Mirabel seems to be the only person left. Confident and prepared, she sets off across the lonely desert to search for a grown up to make everything better.

Bush Associate Artist company Antler arrive with their Edinburgh hit Lands, a high-spirited, tender investigation into a relationship that's on its way to its end.

This is a really brilliant production, full of life, energy, exuberance, and joy. Luke Barnes' script breaks your heart in the subtlest of ways. His writing poetically tells the story of abandoned dreams, working class struggle, and the search for happiness. It's a piece that's full of hope, yet absolutely hopeless at the same time.

How do you keep everything together, when everything around you is falling apart? Life's complicated - that's for sure - and for our central character in this story, balancing teaching, romance and adulthood is just a bit too much to handle. Maddie Rice has written and performs in Pickle Jar, a multi-layered investigation into the highs and lows of being a grown up.

The second offering in this year's National Youth Theatre REP Season is just as brilliant as the earlier reviewed Consensual. In Victoria's Knickers, Josh Azouz and Ned Bennett - who previously collaborated together on Buggy Baby - have combined brains to make another bonkers piece of theatre, this time set around the love between Queen Victoria and an ordinary, yet extraordinary boy.

A 16-strong ensemble storms the Royal Court stage in debbie tucker green's latest play, which shows snapshots of black British and African American experiences in our contemporary day. Directed by the playwright herself, it's a hard-hitting offering that has no problems in laying out the brutal truth of the subject.

This is a play about the highs and lows of teen development, exploring what it means to be a girl today. And despite being set in America, the themes are universal to all. As one of the characters points out, football - or in this case, soccer - is a sport that's played everywhere and therefore it needs no vocal language.

Opening this year's National Youth Theatre REP Season is the return of Evan Placey's Consensual, originally written for the company back in 2015 when it premiered at the Ambassadors Theatre. It's been given a major facelift as Pia Furtado's production, featuring a brand new cast, moves to the Soho Theatre - a space that seems perfectly suited to the intimate nature of the piece.

Celebrating 20 years of performance excellence, Sadler's Wells Associate Artist Jasmin Vardimon's incredibly talented company present another unforgettable, highly entertaining masterpiece.

Back for its third year, Jonny Woo brings his eclectically exuberant production to the Hackney Empire, promising it to be the most spectacular yet. And it is certainly fabulous. Woo has curated an event that features artists from a wide range of performance mediums, cultures and experiences. Celebrating individuality in its finest form, the night is a spectacular sensation from start to finish.

Set a generation after the AIDS crisis, Matthew Lopez's two part world premiere checks in with gay men living today. What does love mean in contemporary New York? How do we find our sense of belonging in a city that's so easy to get lost in? A heartbreaker from start to finish, this rare theatrical offering is undoubtedly the production of the century.

It's Cork, 1998. Brenda sits contemplating a messy night out, which quickly escalates into a reflection on her entire adult experience. Nursing a disgusting hangover, she investigates the actions of her past, and attempts to regain control of her downward spiralling life. Fresh from a celebrated run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Karen Cogan brings her messy comedy to the Soho Theatre.

Many years ago a young girl was given an album that would go on to change her life. It would form the foundations of the woman she'd grow up to be. It'd take her from being a dyslexic struggling to write, to an absolute powerhouse spitting words on the main stage of the Royal Court. poet in da corner is the story of Debris Stevenson.

Eyam, a place located in Derbyshire that has a law to its own. Isolated from the rest of the country, it has become a microcosm of anarchy, upheaval and deprivation. The villagers play by their own rules, shown quite clearly in the opening scenes with the hanging of their Reverend. Rallying together they tie a noose around his neck, watching as gravity does its job and crows of death circle above.

Are you a virus or a blood cell? What does that even mean? In his opening moments, Arinze Kene tells us the difference: blood cells are the good members of society - the viruses are not. A virus would sneak on at the back of the bus, causing a nuisance to the rest of the passengers. Viruses are those that have gentrified the city, and forced the locals to move out, replacing culture with commodity.