TRADGE THE THEATRE GEEK

Harrowing yet heartfelt new play sheds uncomfortable light on British care system ----- Nobody is safe from the looming presence of father time, and if you are privileged enough to have a long, healthy life, the sad reality of getting stuck in the care system can sap away the last remaining remnants of life that may be present behind your tired eyes. As dour and depressing a sentiment as that may be, that is very much the reality in which millions in this country often find t

Brilliant writing let down by rushed direction and wobbly presentation of the text ----- There is a beautiful sense of irony in former British intelligence officer John Le Carré's best known and most successful spy novel, "The Spy Who Came In From The Cold", being the work that allowed him to leave MI6 to pursue writing full time, though the push provided by Kim Philby's betrayal to the KGB would possibly also have been welcomed in some perverse way. This considered, La Carré

Natalie Beech work ticks all boxes thematically, but lacks focus ----- We've surely all come across the social media thought experiment: as a woman alone in the woods, would you rather be there with a man or a bear, and in which of these two scenarios would you feel the most safe? That really is all there is to it in terms of the overriding thematic material in this new work by Natalie Beech, which explores feminism, power dynamics, sexual politics, and individual autonomy, w

Slick, stylish new production brings the best out of this underrated Kander & Ebb work ----- Though the incomparable Goliaths of musical theatre John Kander and Fred Ebb have quite the compositional back catalogue from which to choose, it is fair to say that the vast majority of people, when asked, would only be familiar with their two biggest hitters, “Chicago” and/or “Cabaret”, with both currently experiencing long-term major revivals. Enter their surrealist, seven-time Ton

Dull, confused mess of a show fails to make its intentions known ----- The year is 2015, the USA have their first ever black president, and to boot they have just legalised same-sex marriage nationwide, all of which is, of course, a major cause for celebration, though that is until one orange faced Apprentice host edges his way into the White House...and that's more or less about as much as I was able to decipher from this bizarre, bite-sized Henry Parkman Biggs and Preston J

Rousing, riveting and relevant, this new play shines a light on the plight of refugees ----- Given the various hardships, horrors, and impossible situations experienced by countless displaced persons in the middle east, one can only imagine going through it as a child, let alone having to try and communicate it to a classroom full of 9 and 10 year olds. First premiering at the Rose Theatre in 2024, and recently awarded the Olivier Award for best new family show, "The Boy at

Full of youthful exuberance, ecstasy, agony and rage, a true masterpiece by Kimberly Belflower ----- Take a classroom of teenagers in rural Georgia, USA, give them an assignment to study and reevaluate Arthur Miller ’s play “ The Crucible ”, throw in a healthy smattering of power dynamics, feminine fury and sexual politics, and what you end up with is probably one of the most authentic, intelligent new plays in recent years. This is largely driven by its comprehensive, unfilt

Disjointed, rushed later life triple hander struggles to find its way ----- However we live our lives, spend our time on this planet, there is no escaping the inevitable passing of time, and in an age when technology dominates our very existence, the importance of human interaction cannot be overstated; falling out of this loop at any point can make you feel isolated, lonely, and unable to find that spark to reignite the fire that once burned within. In this new Bren Gosling

Another triumph from James Graham, with this gripping yet heartfelt true story ----- They say when you're young you make more mistakes than at any other point in your life, but that whether you're young or old, each one is a valuable learning experience. What do you do, then, when a drunken night out turns deadly, and before you know it, a single violent action has turned not only your life, but those of countless others, completely upside down? Double Olivier Award winner J

Plenty of charm, warmth and wit on display in new staging of this Coward classic ----- After the success of the recent revival of Jim Cartwright 's play " Road ", artistic director Selina Cartmell 's second outing at Manchester's resident in-the-round space is a new revival of arguably one of the most popular and regularly staged works of English playwright Noël Coward , previously staged at the Royal Exchange in 1995 and later in 2011. " Private Lives " is a play that is mo

With fresh faces at the helm, Anaïs Mitchell's musical masterpiece still soars high ----- " Hadestown " is a musical that, in and of itself, has a history that spans now two decades, first premiering in Vermont during 2006 prior to a mini tour of Massachusetts, however the material showcased is millennia old. The success and popularity of the musical is not only a testament to the power of Anaïs Mitchell 's retelling of these stories through her sumptuous New Orleans jazz-ins

Windrush drama doesn't hold back in its depictions of post-war racial contention ----- There's no escaping the fact that adjusting to the influx of Caribbean immigrants to the UK in the 1940s was a challenge for the majority of ordinary working people, as anti-black prejudice was so societally ingrained that deviation from this imported ideology would arguably make one a pariah, with even the most compassionate and open-minded individuals hesitant in fully committing to defen

Comer delivers heart-stopping performance of Suzie Miller's groundbreaking one-woman legal drama ----- Irony and the idea of legal and moral intersectionality are both terribly cruel mistresses, often playing into the notion that things are never simply black and white when it comes to directly comparing what is morally right, and what is structurally and observably correct. Defence barrister Tessa Ensler has spent much of her legal career in defence of men who find themselve

Triumphant homecoming for SpitLip, as Mincemeat continues to dazzle and delight ----- From its earliest run in the 80-seater New Diorama Theatre , the Mincemeat juggernaut has been steadily picking up steam over the past seven years, and for a piece of theatre to go from a studio in Salford and the fringes of the London theatre scene all the way to broadway is nothing short of extraordinary. Having conquered both London and New York, SpitLip (comprising David Cumming , Felix

Headlong Theatre present profoundly unsettling interpretation of Shakespeare classic ----- It is no mystery why this most charming and eccentric of tales has remained one of Shakespeare ’s most beloved plays throughout the centuries, from his farfetched naming of characters to the various fantastical elements dotted throughout, it really is no wonder why it has stood the test of time to become one of his most staged and interpreted works. Even in spite of all this though, we

Plenty of rock 'n' roll grit in this homage to BritPop ----- The BritPop movement dominated the UK music scene in the mid to late 1990s, with bands such as Pulp , the Verve and Suede providing a welcome departure from the dominance of the doom and gloom of the American grunge scene helmed by Nirvana and Pearl Jam . At the very epicentre of this cultural and political reawakening was the rivalry between middle class Blur , and working class northerners Oasis , as they engage

Punchy pop-rock musical brings Greek myth to life with electric zeal ----- For over two decades now, Percy Jackson has been thrilling young people the world over, with Rick Riordan 's first novel " The Lightning Thief " having been released in 2005, and since then Percy has, if you'll pardon the pun, taken the world by storm. It is no surprise, then, that only nine years after its initial publication, a stage musical based on the first book materialised, courtesy of composer

New folk musical strikes profound chord but, unlike the proverbial ballad, lacks flow ----- Though times and attitudes may well change unequivocally throughout the centuries, one perpetual source of connectivity to the past is the musical and verbal tradition passed down the generations from mothers to daughters, aunts to nieces, as if it flows down family trees like a waterfall. One way or another, traditional music has had a way of surviving beyond the limited technological

Chaotic comedic murder mystery is marvellously mad ----- Blending comedy with crime has often been a winning formula in the past, be that on the screen with modern picks like " Knives Out ", or theatrical exponents such as Ira Levin 's classic " Deathtrap ", or Mischief 's modern farce " The Play That Goes Wrong ". Add to that pile Torbin Betts ' new madcap mystery " Murder at Midnight ", mixing all the pandemonium and disarray of a farce with the suspense, intrigue and enigm

Energetic eco-cabaret has plenty of heart, but lacks fluidity ----- I think it's fair to say that, as far as the most pressing global hot topics go, protection of the environment, for many of us, would top that list without a second thought. This is certainly true of independent eco-theatre company Tenderfoot , as they present an inventive, highly eccentric, albeit rough and ready homage to the diminishing English greenery, with particular focus on more urban and built up are