A LOVELY SUNDAY FOR CREVE COEUR by Tennessee Williams Print Room @ The Coronet 19 September, 2016 THE PRIME OF MS. DAVID HOYLE by David Hoyle The Chelsea Theatre 17 September, 2016 LONGING LASTS LONGER by Penny Arcade Soho Theatre 22 September, 2016 Escape and escapism have long been central themes in theatre, and even moreso in Queer theatre: escaping conformity, loneliness, and death, queer artists have found themselves the voices of those longing for escape, and indulging in escapism. By exploring the transgressive acts of drag and performance art, queer artists even expose and explore the means of escape themselves, making
Father Comes Home from the Wars (Parts 1, 2 &3) by Suzan-Lori Parks The Royal Court Theatre 16 September, 2016 ‘Father Comes Home from the Wars (Parts 1, 2 & 3)’ is as ambitious as the title lets on. Suzan-Lori Parks’ play(s) work to create a sprawling, Homeric epic on themes of war, journey, home, return, freedom…and the price paid for it. Suzan-Lori Parks adapts ‘The Odyssey’ and puts it into a modern vernacular, using the backdrop of the American Civil War and the wages of Emancipation. The Royal Court Theatre in Sloane Square has a long history of supporting playwrights as the central creators of the art of theatre. Their mission statement says: The Royal Co
GROUNDHOG DAY book by Danny Rubin; music & lyrics by Tim Minchin The Old Vic Theatre 14 September, 2016 Weather is about change, and Londoners know that well. The saying ‘If you don’t like the weather in London, wait 15 minutes,’ is absolutely true. Forecasting weather- predicting change- well…good luck with that. ‘Groundhog Day,’ a new musical filling the stage at The Old Vic, centers on the ideas of change, change wanted and change unseen. It’s central character, the weatherman Phil Connors, is a man aching for it. A huge show curtain of a weather map, charting incoming fronts and forecasts, starts ‘Groundhog Day’, and it is dotted with dozens of LED images of Phil Connors, Phil Conno
‘Young Chekhov' : 'Platonov,' 'Ivanov,' & 'The Seagull,' by Anton Chekhov; adapted by David Hare National Theatre September 3, 2016 Wooded landscapes. Decaying summer homes. An onstage stream with reeds. Crickets. Wicker chairs. Everyone waiting unendurably for something to happen: Chekhov. ‘Young Chekhov’ is an impressive accomplishment: three plays by the Russian master playwright presented in repertory, presented in a marathon of 11 hours of drama. Originally produced by the Chichester Festival and transplanted to the massive Olivier stage of the National Theatre complex, the three plays make up some of Chekhov’s earliest writings for the stage, and his own attempts t
Before I left for London, I had a chance to sit down with Michele Cuomo, Dean of Arts and Humanities at Montgomery County Community College on MC3 on the Air to talk about my Sabbatical time in London, this project, and some of the things I am looking forward to in the months ahead. The goal of the project, and this blog, is "to send as much information as I can back to the college and community about the London theatre scene, London theatre artists," and what is happening in the city of London today. I have always loved travel, and found it to be the key to education: going to some place new, to encounter what it is you do not know. It has always been my experience in travel that I "can't
