Play – ‘The Ferryman’, Gielgud Theatre, 5th August 2017

Lots of buzz around this one, either because playwright Jez Butterworth can do no wrong at the moment or because with a running time of 3 hours, it’s on the lengthier end of the spectrum. It took me a little while to work out exactly whose children were whose (there are a lot of them, or perhaps I’m just stupid) but once I’d figured out who people were, the play was fairly engrossing. There were occasional wonderful little comedy touches (the real animals have been much discussed) and some impressive drama in the final scenes. Laura Donnelly did a stunning job of handling the tricky part of Caitlin.
Personally I’m always a fan of sharp punchy theatre rather than long drawn out pieces and I’m not entirely convinced that this play justified the length- but still a great evening’s theatre.
Overall: it’s long. Be prepared. Get comfy. But it’s impressive..

Immersive Theatre – ‘Alice’s Adventures Underground’, The Vaults, 27th July 2017

While I go to the theatre often, it is rarely with my other half; we are more likely to go to comedy or music gigs together. But every now and then he surprises me in the best way, as he did with booking this immersive production for ‘date night’. It had been on my radar for a while; I love immersive theatre and I love ‘Alice in Wonderland’, so it was always going to be a good one for me. It impressed me hugely, particularly the level of detail; even the bar area before you go in is beautifully decorated in a ‘Wonderland’ theme. The Vaults is a venue I’ve never been to before but the space made it possible to create astounding sets and 4 separate pathways- everyone is sorted into a ‘suit’ (hearts, clubs, diamonds, spades) and you end up with a totally different experience as a result. I remain jealous that my other half got to eat the jam tarts while I didn’t! It all comes together at the end in the courtroom scene where all the storylines are neatly tied up in the conclusion.
Overall: OK, the story won’t shock you (who DOESN’T know ‘Alice in Wonderland’?!) but the imagination, detail, and pace definitely will. GO.

Opera – ‘The Merchant of Venice’, Royal Opera House, 20th July 2017

I suppose I’d better be upfront from the beginning. I probably shouldn’t be reviewing this one since we left at the interval. Yes, it was THAT bad. I’m never that big of an opera fan anyway, but have lots of friends who love it so often go with them. This one however, was a mistake. Dark oppressive sets were matched by dark oppressive music. Despite knowing the story well having studied it at school, I found the narrative hard to follow.

Overall: Do what we didn’t manage to do… Save your ticket money and spend it on gelato instead!

Play – ‘Ink’, Almeida Theatre, 29th June 2017

It isn’t often there’s a theatre in North London that I’ve never once been to (I rarely do south of the river, or at least no further south than Southbank. No one has convinced me yet that I’m missing out). But I’ve never been to the Almeida. Once again, I ended up here due to a recommendation from a friend. And what a good one it was. ‘Ink’ is a play about Rupert Murdoch and the Sun. Not an obvious premise for an entertaining evening you might think, and before seeing this play I’d have agreed with you. But what this play does is to show you just what a groundbreaker Murdoch was in his time. Until the Sun came along, everything was broadsheets. Murdoch was determined to provide something different, he was sure there was a market out there for it -and he was right. But the lengths he went to in order to make his venture a success are truly eye-opening. I’d like to say more, but I understand this play is due to make a West End transfer so I don’t want to spoil it for you. Go and find out for yourself.

Overall: Who knew Rupert Murdoch could be a good subject for fascinating theatre?! Challenge your preconceptions.

Play – ‘Obsession’, Barbican Theatre, 18th May 2017

Once again my fickleness drew me in- I’ve loved Jude Law for years, so when I realised he was doing a play at the Barbican (with cheap tickets available), there was no question in my mind that I should go. Well that is, until my friend S (who’d already seen it) described it as ‘truly terrible’. Spoiler alert- she was right…
The play is cliched at best- beautiful woman in loveless marriage has affair with handsome stranger. So far, so Mills and Boon. What made it really odd was the strange theatrical devices which were employed – from the tipping of rubbish all over the stage (an apt metaphor if ever I saw one) to the running on a treadmill (presumably something about running to stand still, which is exactly how this play made me feel).
The only redeeming feature was Jude Law with his shirt off, which is a sad indictment of the play.
Overall: spend your money on a poster of Jude topless, not on a ticket to this play.