Jonathan Marshall - Page 4

The Cavern at the Vaults could not be a more appropriate setting for a play about underground crime. Francine and Marla are in search of a new apprentice at their hazardous waste removal firm. Eager for the work, Belinda quickly discovers the job is not quite what it seems and it isn't long before she finds herself immersed in a dark and disturbing world involving criminal activity.

The Vault Festival provides a perfect platform for artists to tackle subjects that are seldom explored on stage. Writer Karen Bartholomew is herself adopted and reunited with her birth family at a young age. This is not her story; however it's obviously an issue very close to her heart and her background lends the production an appropriate authenticity.

Working with Carers UK, Carers Trust and Carers Network, Ecoute Theatre bring their verbatim play Take Care to the Vault Festival. Approximately 70 interviews were conducted with the material being amalgamated into 20 different stories that are presented to us by a cast of just 4 talented actors.

Ben is a working class chef whose life spirals out of control when he attempts to rekindle his relationship with his mother. His friendships, career and love life are all tested as his week goes from bad to worse. Written by Tom Stocks and with the support of the Mental Health Foundation, Netflix & Chill is a pertinent and timely study of the effects of toxic masculinity. Suicide is the biggest killer of men under the age of 45 and although society has finally begun to acknowledge and address male mental health, the fast-paced social media saturated world we're a part of can be extremely debilitating to those who are fragile.

The second production at the recently reopened Riverside Studios in Hammersmith marks Robert Bathurst's highly anticipated return to the stage. Joined by Rebecca Johnson, Love, Loss & Chianti is a double bill of poet Christopher Reid's A Scattering and The Song of Lunch.

Following their collaboration with My Dad's Gap Year, Tom Wright reunites with actor Alex Britt for this magical coming of age fantasy, only this time the writer is in the director's chair.  Potter fanatic Jack is hopelessly in love with his best friend Ollie. Navigating his way through the daily struggles of school and still processing his sexuality, everything comes down to trial and error for the young teen. With his trusty time-turner device, however, Jack is able to revisit events and change his actions.

The bond between father and son can be incredibly strong but also incredibly fraught. Fathers might expect their sons to follow suit in terms of interests and ideas and sons perhaps feel pressured into living up to certain expectations that are thrust upon them. Lack of communication and male pride often interfere with being open and honest with one another and toxic behaviours can trickle down from one generation to the next. Writer James Morton explores this subject matter in his debut play premiering at The Vaults Festival. Casting a light on three generations, Father's Son examines how unresolved trauma and poor mental health ripple through a working class family in Stoke. Developed through the National Theatre's Toolkit programme and Soho Writers' Lab, the play was shortlisted for the Tony Craze Award in 2018.

The promotional poster promises us the greatest afterparty of our lives. Entering the theatre to loud music and dancing, we know we're in for as good a time as friends Andy and Yog have clearly just experienced.  Santino Smith and Scott Mackie's new play isn't simply an evening of raucous fun though. Exploring love, friendship, sexuality and identity and the idea of navigating adulthood, this is a comedy with substance and a lot to say.

The iconic Riverside Studios return to a brand new building after a five year redevelopment project. West London will benefit from multiple performance, rehearsal and broadcast spaces in the shadow of Hammersmith Bridge. The new building also boasts two cinemas with films selected by renowned curator Jason Wood, who promises a mix of first run films alongside the best in independent film.

Wildly Theatre Company voices stories that represent different sides of a female. Here they examine beauty while exploring our Social Media obsessed culture and the damaging influence it can hold over people.

Rosalind Blessed takes residency at London's Old Red Lion Theatre throughout January, performing two self-penned plays in rep. Both new works explore the theme of mental health as well as drawing on the fact that a dog's unwavering love for us can often be a redemptive force.

It's the most wonderful time of the year...unless you've just been dumped by your partner of ten years. That's exactly what's happened to Libby. After a decade with boyfriend Rob Everest a long-term relationship status is all Libby knows. Spiralling into depression and knocking back Pinot Grigio at nine am, Libby attempts to rediscover who she is and what life has to offer.

The 90's was an incredible decade for music, film and fashion. It was also a time when society in general was less accepting. For anyone who didn't fit the brief of what was once considered 'normal', life was far more challenging than it is now. In 2019 there is still much work to be done, though it must be said that in general terms we have finally come to embrace diversity. We have London Pride, Black History Month and Mental Health Awareness Week. People with physical disabilities, though, still seem to be on the periphery and are all too easily swept under the carpet. Fitting then, that this new play by Matilda Ibini is being performed underground at the Bunker Theatre.

It's incredible to think Thriller Live has been a staple of London theatre for an entire decade. It holds the record as the 13th-longest-running musical in West End history and has played around the world to over five million people. With Peter Andre slipping on the white sequinned glove once again for a short stint commencing 10 December, the show remains in demand.

With a title such as The Exceptional Case of Whizz and Drex it's almost a dead cert we're in for something unique and original. This is writer and director Fred Kelly's debut play and it doesn't disappoint.

Alcohol is widely considered a socially acceptable norm. Most people think nothing of sinking a few pints in the pub or enjoying a glass or two of red with dinner. Perhaps if it was invented now though, there would be arguments for it to be made illegal. The amount of money spent by the NHS on treating those who over consume is frankly staggering. According to Alcohol Change UK, Britain has an estimated 586,780 dependent drinkers with less than 20% receiving treatment. There's nothing wrong with consuming a few social drinks after work, of course, but what happens when alcohol consumes your whole life?

Bed Seven transports us back to 1953. We're in King's College Hospital, London, where Gerald (Jesse Rutherford) is a patient. Looked after by Nurse Patricia (Chloe Wigmore), the two have completely contrasting backgrounds and seem poles apart. It isn't long, however, before any niggling doubts they have are cast aside and the two permit themselves to embrace the love between them.

We live in an increasingly fast paced 24-7 society. At the click of a button we can have almost anything imaginable arrive on our doorstep just hours later. We can take in a 3D movie, challenge ourselves in an Escape Room and choose from literally hundreds of TV shows at home or on the move. Theatre and the uniquely intimate experience it provides has prevailed through copious changes in recent times. Most mainstream shows stick to the tradition of having an audience seated in front of a stage upon which actors perform a play. Nothing wrong with that. But how can the medium adapt to reflect our ever changing cravings for something bigger, better and more unique? Enter Fabien Riggall and his game changing concept, Secret Cinema. If this particular experience is anything to go by, it certainly lives up to the hype.

Katzpace, the basement theatre of Katzenjammers near Borough Market, seems an ideal venue for a play about the dark underbelly of Hollywood. Sex, power and the sacrifices we make to achieve success are key themes in this dark comedy written by and starring Holly McFarlane.

In August 2017 a journalist named Kim Wall went to interview inventor Peter Madsen on his private submarine. She never came back. Most people seemed baffled as to why someone, especially a woman, would risk entering such an environment with a perfect stranger.  If it had been another man, would we have reacted in the same way? These are just some of the many questions about gender stereotypes that are explored and challenged in this debut play.