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Actor-producer Mónica Lopera and director Miguel Torres Umba talk London premiere of Colombian play ‘Goodbye’: “We all need to talk more openly about mental health, loneliness and connection”
One more year, Brixton House returns its flagship festival, championing new writing from diverse, international voices. Guillermo Nazara chats with the team behind the first English-language production of Alejandra Chamorro’s life-affirming play, discussing the challenges of reaching a culturally different audience and the difficulties Latin American and emerging theatre currently face in the London scene.…
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Review of ‘Woody Sez’: “Biographical musical goes down the wrong dramaturgical road, and it feels bad”
He deserves to be celebrated. And celebrated, he is. Beautifully. Passionately. Sometimes, even remarkably. But not flawlessly. Far from that, in fact. The creative team is unlikely to change anything. The show played at the Ed Fringe over a decade ago, then came to London, and subsequently toured across the US, returning to its second…
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Review of ‘Bloodsport’: “Modern-day Iliad screams loud, but it has no stentorian voice”
A Greek tragedy is unfolding on the stage at Stratford East. If the gods of theatre are keen to seek retaliation, I cannot blame them. In the end, it is a mediocre play. Even worse, it butchers one of the finest ancient narratives the Western world has ever coined, and it has virtually nothing to…
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Artistic Director Sharon Willems talks premature closure of Arches Lane Theatre: “Culture and community can’t just be marketing talking points”
Despite last year’s takeover and its intent to breathe new life into the venue, the Arches Lane Theatre- formerly known as The Turbine -will go permanently dark at the end of the month following a unilateral termination by the development company. Guillermo Nazara chats with the woman behind the space’s latest iteration about the local…
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Review of ‘The Children’ (Lyric Hammersmith, 2026): “Nuclear tragedy misses some of its core”
I can’t stop thinking that the whole premise, message, and even title of this show come across as if they’re honouring (or written by) Helen Lovejoy. Yes, I mean the one from The Simpsons. Fortunately, it has nothing to do with puritan morality but her determination to protect the younger. And the fact that the…
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Review of ‘Rope Drop’: “Disneyland cabaret homage is no E-ticket attraction, but it has a fast pass”
It’s become fashionable to hate on Disney adults. Some argue that their entertainment is aimed at kids and kids alone, and you should move on once they hit puberty. Others claim that grown-ups’ admiration for The Big Cheese and everything it manufactures is almost sectarian and requires psychological examination. And others (probably, the majority) are…
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Review of ‘Jane Eyre: A Musical’ (Southwark Playhouse, 2026): “Poor, obscure, plain, and little adaptation is also soulless and heartless”
From (half of) the directional team that brought you Les Misérables, here comes a show that won’t fail to let you down. Yes, I’m aware of what most critics said when the “unsellable French musical” premiered at the Barbican — and of how, 40 years later, it continues to prove them wrong. But as a…
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Review of ‘Crybabies: The Scaring’: “Horror parody show is frightfully hysterical”
There are three possible outcomes when making a horror story: it can be either terrible, terrific, or terrifying. This one happens to be the last two. Despite the humour (and trust me when I say that there’s A LOT of that), you’ll still find a few solid screamers in it; if you don’t believe me,…
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Writer and performer Derek Murphy talks new queer play ‘Mammy’s House’: “We’re only just starting to properly reckon with how much of this history was left undocumented”
Following a two-year research process featuring numerous conversations with its real-life protagonists, Upstairs at the Gatehouse welcomes this new play celebrating the lives, friendship, and resilience of Irish LGBT immigrants living in London during the AIDS crisis. Guillermo Nazara chats with its creator to learn more about the piece’s development and its uncanny resonance with…
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Review of ‘Holy Fool’: “Shostakovich-themed play brings no harmony — but it doesn’t conflict either”
It’s difficult enough to sit through a two-and-a-half-hour play following a first-thing flight from New York for writers Rosalind Adler and Lea Sellers to make things worse. And worse, they make them — to a point where the tedium becomes torturous. Bear in mind that the plot is set during Stalin’s oppressive regime. But ironically,…
