Cindy Marcolina

Kurt Vonnegut’s anti-war sci-fi is probably one of the most censored novels of the 20th century. Published in 1969, it’s a methodical indictment of war and a sharp critique of traditional American values. The book has been reproached for its obscene and graphic writing, the exact same reasons why it remains such a relevant and uncompromising piece of literature. Eric Simonson’s acclaimed adaptation barges into Southwark Playhouse with its unyielding message. Director Douglas Baker reinforces the story’s nature as a parable of resistance and a cautionary tale against the dehumanising practices of warfare.

Kenneth Branagh has returned to Stratford-upon-Avon to tread the boards of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, where we last saw him 33 years ago as the Prince of Denmark directed by Adrian Noble. This time around, Branagh takes on Shakespeare’s swan song under Richard Eyre. He gets to tick Prospero off his Shakespearean to-do list, and we get to watch another project where the actor-director-writer-producer sticks out like a sore thumb. Eyre struggles to keep Branagh under control.

It might still be some time until Death Becomes Her hits London, but the West End was ablaze with its spirit this past weekend, when Megan Hilty graced the stage of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. No one does it like the Broadway superstar. Hilty delighted the audience with stories spanning over two decades’ worth of showbiz experience. In sky-high heels and two gowns to die for, it was a stunning showcase of her incredible range. 

Hollywood legend Judy Garland is preparing to take the stage at the infamous Talk of the Town theatre-restaurant in 1968. In her room at The Ritz Hotel, she unravels. The star’s glitz and glamour dim, and the harsh reality of what it takes to make it in Hollywood transpires. The show must go on, but Garland is fighting a whole array of demons and she would pass away the following year in London, overdosing on barbiturates. Peter Quilter’s play (with music) is genre-questioning and tonally indecisive. Former drag queen turned Broadway star  Jinkx Monsoon could have taken on the role of a lifetime, but the lack of cohesion in Rupert Hands’s direction fails her.

Art imitates life, and life imitates art in Sarah Ruhl’s 2014 play Stage Kiss. When two ex-lovers are cast in the same show, their on-stage relationship bleeds into their off-stage one, and vice versa. The weight of their baggage threatens to ruin their relationships, but Ruhl is excessively compassionate and wholly unoriginal.

A virus has decimated the entire population, turning them into zombies. Or has it? Whilst all hell breaks loose, a man is isolating in a bunker alone. Deep underground, his thoughts are his only company and entertainment. His reality slowly alters. Why do we keep going in the face of hardship? Is the fight for survival enough to define a life? Jishik Kim and Seungyeon Kwon’s hit musical hails straight from South Korea in a re-imagined version with Jethro Compton at the dramaturgy and Daljung Kim at the direction. Led by Lex Lee (who shared the role with Nabi Brown through the run), it’s a spunky, bleak, compassionate, riveting piece of solo theatre. 

An awkward school reunion between childhood friends turns into a seething, horrid thriller in Morgan Lloyd Malcolm’s play The Wasp. The long-term effects of bullying and the despair of the economic gap gather to deliver an ever-turning, slow-burning, stomach-churning piece of theatre. Director James Haddrell brings it back to the stage after the IP was adapted into a film a few years back.

Caryl Churchill meets ‘il dolce far niente’ in this reimagined production of her 2016 play Escaped Alone. Italian companies lacasadargilla and Piccolo Teatro present a timid adaptation written by Monica Capuani and directed by Lisa Ferlazzo Natoli and Alessandro Ferroni. It’s a pity that the quintessentially bleak English approach of Churchill’s four ageing women as they spend their summer between tea and gossip fails to translate. Caught between the shackling boredom of retirement and a desire to maintain their identities, they reminisce and dig up the past, unearthing a few uncomfortable truths. In all this, Mrs. Jarrett slips into apocalyptic speeches that detail environmental disaster and societal collapse.

It takes just under ten hours to appreciate J. R. R. Tolkien’s masterpiece if you watch Peter Jackson’s epic trilogy one film after the other. For many fans, it’s a yearly occurrence to gather with friends to re-watch Frodo and his band of brothers fighting evil to save the Shire. This year you can do things differently. The Royal Albert Hall rings in the 25th anniversary of The Fellowship of the Ring with a celebration of their own, showing Jackson’s magna opera in its entirety, accompanied by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Choir, and the Trinity Boys Choir. As far as movie marathons go, you can’t beat the glamour of attending one of the most iconic franchises backed by a live orchestra in a magnificent setting like the Hall. 

Ghosts, death, and the local fauna join the living in a house in the middle of the woods. When Luka takes his girlfriend to his childhood home to spend her birthday relaxing in solitude, she’s suddenly met with the weight of Luka’s family dynamics. Secluded in the damp darkness of the trees, Luka (Francesco Villano) and his brother Theo (Emiliano Masala) are forced to dig up the past. Rosalinda Conti’s play is an explosion of subtle emotion. It blends tradition with avant-garde flair in a clever stylistic exercise directed by Lisa Ferlazzo Natoli and Alessandro Ferroni.

A corrupt lot steeped in scandal puppeteers the economy. Unreasonable taxes are plaguing the people. Violence is rampant. All the while, a megalomaniac is gaining more traction by the day. Did we turn on the news, or are we watching Bertolt Brecht’s merciless satire? Seán Linnen transforms the allegorical German classic into a riotous, electric, exciting romp with music by Placebo. Translated by Stephen Sharkey, it follows a fictional mobster who, appealing to the masses, reaches enormous power in 1930s Chicago. Brecht wrote the play as a response to Hitler’s ascent to dictatorship, specifically including direct references and relevant information about the timeline. Now more than ever, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui is both a parable and a warning.

“I’m just here to talk about my divorce,” says Yousef Sweid right after a preamble about the reception of political productions. He and Isabella Sedlak write a poignant reflection on how beliefs and birthplaces raise us and shackle us at once. Between The River and The Sea approaches the Palestinian genocide from a personal standpoint, never making it its focus, yet permeating every word with the weight of it. It introduces a Christian-Arab-Palestinian-Israeli father who’s raising two Jewish-Arab-Austrian children in Berlin. Yousef (Sweid) is trying to get custody of his youngest after his second divorce, after his ex-wife told him she wants to move back to their home country. 

Kit Withington writes a lightweight exegesis of grief, briefly touching upon what it means to grow up and leave home. Technically speaking, there’s nothing wrong with Heart Wall. It’s just a tad too sprawling and prosaic. Withington makes a few good points in her reflection, and Katie Greenall tends to its directorial needs well. From the bittersweet aura as Franky mourns the loss of feeling at home to the harrowing realisation that you might have fallen behind in life, the play prods a dull ache in all of us.

“This book is about portraying a safe and dramatically effective staged fight using rapier and dagger,” so begins Roger Bartlett’s latest volume. From the large-scale battles in The Lord of the Rings to the intimate denouement in a production of Hamlet at your local theatre, stage combat is as essential a character as a protagonist can be. A badly choreographed sword fight can shatter even the tightest dramatic illusion. This is the chance to learn the best technique directly from a Master Teacher who’s accredited with the British Academy of Stage and Screen Combat. 

The Last Five Years meets Gravity to introduce their unfortunate lovechild. Daniel steals a spacecraft and leaves Earth; his ex-girlfriend, Emily, is left behind. A trio of scientists breaks down their complicated relationship while Daniel records his days orbiting the planet. On paper, Theo Jamieson’s new musical is a thrilling original concept. The core idea and its philosophical foundations are utterly compelling, so it’s a real shame that they bear very little weight against a shallow plot and uninteresting characters. Adam Lenson (credited as co-creator too) directs with profound empathy for the human race, trying hard to bring to life our harrowing need to feel connected. The material fails him. 

Robert Icke is back in the West End with another star-studded classic in tow. After tackling Sophocles last year, he returns to Shakespeare, revisiting the Bard’s most misrepresented tragedy: Romeo and Juliet. Fourteen years after his directorial debut for Headlong with a radical rendition of the same play, Icke doesn’t have anything to prove - we already know he’s in a league of his own. Stylised with an ampersand like all the cool kids do these days, this production is slick, focused, and profoundly sincere.

Henry V of England is one of those big roles for an actor. Alfie Enoch follows in the footsteps of Laurence Olivier and Tom Hiddleston as the king who led a battalion of tired and outnumbered soldiers to victory. Excellent performances may save it, but co-artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company Tamara Harvey’s take on this history play is unfortunately bland and unfocused. It’s something we’ve seen too many times before.

When John Proctor is the Villain opened on Broadway last year, it lit a fire. Kimberly Belflower’s response to Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is more than play, it’s a movement. After shaking things up overseas, the piece is taking on London now (in the same venue that saw the U.K. premiere of Miller’s chef d’oeuvre seven decades ago almost to the day!) with its full creative team in tow and a brand new cast.

Politically involved art is crucial to the healthy functioning of a nation. Even when it’s of subpar quality, this type of outlet is vital. Mohammedally Hashemi’s play is most probably not ready to be staged quite yet. It means well and it has lots of big ideas, but it requires a complete overhaul for the production to match the value of its contents. Yusuf is a talented designer who’s making a name for himself. The recent acquisition of a large share of his company by a British investor is making it hard to reconcile his activism with her business acumen. Narratively, it boils down to the visionary couturier needing to choose between what he holds dear and the guarantee of a bright future.

Loeb certainly offers a list of thought-provoking provocations but doesn’t delve into anything that’s not already obvious if you’re a cynical mind. Predictably, money is the source of all evil, and what begins as a legitimate project to help heal the illnesses of the world becomes a profitable machine. Working around an ethical discourse is fun if it’s matched with a solid story, but the narrative lacks the appropriate pull to properly propel the philosophical side forward.