When it was first serialized in La Revue de Paris in 1856, Gustave Flaubert’s scandalous masterpiece was attacked for obscenity by public prosecutors. Flaubert was acquitted, but the trial made Madame Bovary a notorious bestseller, now considered a seminal work of realism and one of the most influential novels ever written.
Read MoreWith the exception of the extraordinary staging of one of the most memorable ever speeches, Lear’s ‘Blow wind and crack your cheeks..’ being shouted by him with his back to the audience, the production’s modern dress style was filled with engaging movement and visually skillful staging. The attention never wavered, even though it was like watching a foreign language play at times.This reviewer was seated at the extreme right of the thrust stage. Perhaps because of this, most of the language was unintelligible, with actors facing away. Added to this this was the indistinct delivery of the text, with actors allowed, or directed, to speak with great speed, as they would a Mamet text, often with poor enunciation and vocal projection.
Read MoreZippos Circus is a wonderful, all-family experience, steeped in the traditions of the sawdust ring. Bursting with atmosphere, the 2013 programme, Carnaval, delivers two hours of high energy acts from around the world. Touring, now in East Ham.
Read MoreDelving into her past, Juliet Lawson brings forth from her suitcase, songs and memories, as she says, ‘of angst and passion, with a smattering of self deprecation, humour and other delights’.
In the warm and intimate atmosphere of the Rosemary Branch Theatre, the soulful style and bittersweet wit and rhyme of Miss Lawson, brought sighs of appreciation from her faithful audience, and in numbers like ‘Is It Really You?’, ‘What a Waste Of a Woman’, and ‘At the Sign Of The Fallen Angel’, some truly wonderful songs are on show.
Read MoreThe enduring tradition and reputation of Movingstage Marionette Company, more popularly known as the Puppet Theatre Barge, founded by Gren Middleton and Juliet Rogers, and moored at Little Venice, is further enhanced by the engaging production of The Hare And The Tortoise, and six other Aesop fables. The enormous repertoire of the company, now in its 34th year, features captivating marionettes and staging by Middleton and Roberts.
Read MoreJohn Ford’s famous and best known work is irresistible enough for there to be periodic productions around town, and it remains for each to stamp its identity on the great play.
Read MoreThis production has been wowing audiences in the Off Broadway scene because the numbers were sung and danced superbly, rivalling anything on Broadway itself.
Read MoreFabulous material with which to people an excoriating and witty story. But the abiding conclusion is that within the gay world there isn’t a single relationship without a malcontent, unfulfilled, unhealthy, frustrated and dishonest, and there isn’t a single person one would like to meet.
Read MoreIn a city of a multitude of cultures, there is a corner whose extraordinary Jewish history is made more poignant by being invisible. London’s buildings, streets and area names are steeped in the past going back to Roman times, so one might wonder, given that the Jewish presence in the country recently celebrated its 350th anniversary, why there is so little evidence of this presence in the part of London where it was once so thriving, the East End. Now the vibrant Jewish past, saturated with human experience, is a neglected garden, overgrown with evidence of the present occupiers, aided and abetted by Hitler’s Luftwaffe.
Read More